Vinay Forrt

Vinay Forrt was born in Fort Kochi, Kerala, to M. V. Mani and Sujatha. His real name is Vinay Kumar, and he changed his name as a tribute to his birthplace. He has a sister, Suma, and a brother, Syam. He was educated at St John De Britto Anglo-Indian High School, Fort Kochi and Aquinas College, Edacochin . Before entering the movie industry, he worked at a restaurant, a coffee shop, medical shop and a call center. During his first year while studying for his degree , he joined Lokadharmi Theater and became active in their plays. Later he dropped out to join the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, India, and became a postgraduate in acting. Forrt received the National Scholarship from the Government of India for the Best Senior Theatre Actor (2004 - 2006). He is a contemporary dancer as well.

While studying at the Film and Television Institute he was chosen by Shyamaprasad to play a role in his film Ritu (2009).^[3][4] Vinay Fort debuted in Shyamaprasad's Ritu (2009) in a small role as a gay, but one which earned him recognition

He costarred in The Blueberry Hunt (2011), an English film by Anup Kurian with Naseeruddin Shah in the lead. He played a notable role in Navagatharkku Swagatham (2012). The film was a failure at box office. Vinay went on to play minor roles in several movies. He was noted for his role as Nanmayil Suran in Shutter (2012). The film was a critical and commercial success and was screened at various International film festivals.^[5] Vinay played a supporting role in the 2014 thriller 7th Day.

Vinay posted Vimal Sir in Alphonse Putharen's Premam. This role with a comic shade earned him wide recognition and some of his dialogues from the movie eventually developed a cult following.^[6] He played a lead role in the 2015 comedy thriller Urumbukal Urangarilla which received positive and mixed reviews.^[7] Forrt went on to be in movies including Kohinoor (2015) Kammatti Paadam, Kismath (2016) and God Say (2017). He played a lead role in Hello Namasthe (2016), which was a failure at box office. He had a major supporting role in Georgettans Pooram and Role Models, both released in 2017.

Forrt had the lead role in Thamasha (2019). He portrayed Srinivasan, a Malayalam professor unable to find a suitable woman to marry. Some critics reviewed it as one of his best performances.^[8] Vinay played a lead role in the satire Paapam Cheyyathavar Kalleriyatte (2020). The movie generally received positive reviews from critics.^[9] His comic role as Kripesh/Akash Menon in Mohan Kumar Fans (2021) was well received.^[10] Forrt's performance as David Chistudas, a friend-turned-foe of the protagonist in Mahesh Narayanan's Malik (2021) received wide appreciation from critics.^[11] Some consider this one of his best performances.^[12]

He married his longtime girlfriend Soumya Ravi, a research student, on 6 December 2014 at Guruvayoor.^[13] The couple have a son.

• Vinay Forrt at IMDb