When Chiyaan Vikram faced the camera for his first film in 1990, he was in his early twenties. His son, Dhruv Vikram, got there even sooner. Dhruv was born on 23 September 1997 in Chennai, which makes him 29 years old, and he was just 22 when Adithya Varma released.
That head start came with a famous surname and a lot of expectation. This page looks at Dhruv Vikram age and birthday first, then the rest of his story: growing up as Chiyaan’s son, acting school in New York, the debut that was shot twice, two years on a kabaddi court for Bison, his singing, his looks, his money and the social account that is really his.
- Date of birth: 23 September 1997
- Age: 29 years
- Born in: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Star sign: Libra
- Parents: actor Chiyaan Vikram and Shailaja Vikram
- Known for: Adithya Varma, Mahaan and Bison Kaalamaadan
Dhruv Vikram Age And The 23 September Birthday:
Dhruv celebrates his birthday every year on 23 September. He was born in 1997 in Chennai, the city where his father was still chasing the hit that would change his career. That hit, Sethu, came two years later, in 1999, so Dhruv grew up through the years his father became Chiyaan.
Same Family, Different Starting Points:
Putting father and son side by side at the same stage puts his age in a new light. Here is how their careers line up.
| The milestone | Chiyaan Vikram | Dhruv Vikram |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1966 | 23 September 1997 |
| First film | En Kadhal Kanmani, in 1990 | Adithya Varma, in 2019, at 22 |
| The film that changed things | Sethu, in 1999, at 33 | Bison Kaalamaadan, in 2025, at 28 |
| Acted together | Mahaan, as the father | Mahaan, as the son |
In other words, Dhruv reached a lead role and a critically praised sports drama years earlier than his father did, although Vikram’s road ran through a decade of small parts and dubbing work before Sethu.
Growing Up As Chiyaan’s Son:
Dhruv is the son of Vikram, whose real name is Kennedy John Victor, and Shailaja, a psychologist and teacher. His grandfather, Vinod Raj, also acted in Tamil films. Dhruv has an elder sister, Akshita, who married Manu Ranjith, the great-grandson of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi.
Shailaja chose to keep the children away from the film world’s glare, so Dhruv and Akshita had a fairly ordinary childhood despite their father’s fame. He has said he remembers watching his father’s films in packed theatres and feeling as if the cheers were meant for him too.
He wears that bond openly: his father’s name is tattooed on his right wrist.
Acting School In New York, And A Short Film First:
Acting was not an easy sell at home in Chennai, so Dhruv took it to New York. He trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, where nobody cared whose son he was, and he later did a six-month filmmaking course at MetFilm School.
Before any feature film, he directed a short of his own. Goodnight Charlie, released in 2016, was an English-language short about child abuse.
The Debut That Was Shot Twice:
Dhruv’s first film was meant to be Varmaa, director Bala’s Tamil remake of the Telugu hit Arjun Reddy. The producers shelved it, and the remake was shot again from scratch with director Gireesaaya as Adithya Varma, which released in November 2019 with Dhruv as the troubled surgeon at its centre. The debut won him Best Debut Male at the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, and the original Varmaa version finally saw a release in 2020.
In 2022 he acted with his father for the first time in Karthik Subbaraj’s Mahaan on Amazon Prime Video, playing Dada, a police officer who is estranged from his father. He has said that working opposite his own father made the role one of his toughest.
Two Years On A Kabaddi Court For Bison:
After Mahaan he stayed away from the screen for almost three years. When he came back, it was with Mari Selvaraj’s Bison Kaalamaadan, a sports drama inspired by the life of kabaddi player Manathi Ganesan. Dhruv plays Kittan, a young man from rural Tamil Nadu who fights caste prejudice to reach the Indian team.
To play him, Dhruv trained in kabaddi for about two years and spent months in Tirunelveli living and playing with real kabaddi players. The film released on 17 October 2025, did well at the box office with a theatrical run estimated at around Rs 75 crore, and earned him some of the best reviews of his career. It later streamed on Netflix.
His film Jackie, directed by Karan Arvind Kumar for Mythri Movie Makers with music by Santhosh Narayanan, casts him as a stuntman and body double.
His screen credits, from the short he directed to Jackie.
| When | The title | Who he played |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Goodnight Charlie (short film) | Director |
| 2019 | Adithya Varma | Dr. Adithya Varma |
| 2020 | Varmaa | Varmaa Vasudevan |
| 2022 | Mahaan | Dadabhai Naoroji, known as Dada |
| 2025 | Bison Kaalamaadan | Kittan |
| To be released | Jackie | Jackie, a stuntman |
The Singer Behind Manase And Odiyamma:
Music matters as much to Dhruv as acting. He plays the guitar, studied piano with Trinity College London up to grade five, and leans towards old-school rock and Coldplay. He sang Edharkadi in his debut film, wrote and sang Missing Me for Mahaan, and has released his own singles, including Manase, Oru Kaayam, Poomadhiye and Need Ya. He also sang Odiyamma for the Telugu film Hi Nanna.
Like Sanvi Sudeep, the daughter of Kannada star Kiccha Sudeep, he is a star kid who has made singing part of his identity rather than leaning on acting alone.
Dhruv Vikram’s Height, Weight And Look:
Dhruv stands about 1.74 metres, a little under 5 feet 9 inches, and weighs around 70 kg. He has dark brown eyes and black hair, which he usually keeps short with a full beard. The kabaddi training for Bison gave him a leaner, athletic build.
His physical details, briefly.
| What you notice | How it looks |
|---|---|
| Height | About 1.74 m, just under 5 ft 9 in |
| Weight | Around 70 kg |
| Eyes | Dark brown |
| Hair | Black, usually cropped short |
| Tattoo | His father’s name on his right wrist |
What Dhruv Earns:
Dhruv has not shared his earnings publicly. His fee for Bison Kaalamaadan was reported at around Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore, and with his earlier films, music releases and brand work, his own net worth is estimated at around Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore. That figure is separate from his father’s wealth.
Is He On Instagram Or X?
Instagram is where he shares his updates. His team has clarified that he has no account on X, so any profile there in his name is not his.
| Where | The real account |
|---|---|
| Instagram (verified) | @dhruv.vikram |
| X (Twitter) | He does not have an account |
Off Screen, In Short:
- His favourite film is Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar.
- He has a sweet tooth, especially for cakes and Indian mithai.
- His ideal evening is staying in, watching something and ordering food.
- He has said he does not have friends from the film industry.
- His father’s name is tattooed on his right wrist.
The Takeaway:
Born on 23 September 1997, Dhruv Vikram is 29, with four films, a run of songs and a short he directed himself behind him. If you came here for Dhruv Vikram age, the date to remember is 23 September, the day the Vikram family’s second actor was born.
FAQs:
His birthday is on 23 September. He was born in 1997.
He was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
His father is actor Chiyaan Vikram and his mother is Shailaja Vikram.
His first release was Adithya Varma in 2019.
At the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York.
No. His team has said he has no X account.
He is about 1.74 m, just under 5 feet 9 inches.