Vinay Rai is an Indian film actor who predominantly features in Tamil films. He is a popular model who has been a part of several known fashion shows. He starred in the box office hit Unnale Unnale in the role of Karthik, which got him nominated with The Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor. He then went on to star in movies like Jayamkondaan, Modhi Vilayadu, and Onbadhule Guru. He played as one of the friends of Jiiva`s character in the Tamil comedy drama Endrendrum Punnagai (2013), starring Trisha Krishnan and Santhanam as the other leads. He was part of an ensemble cast including Hansika Motwani, Andrea Jeremiah, Raai Laxmi, and Santhanam, in the horror comedy film Aranmanai (2014).

His 2017 venture includes the Tamil detective thriller film Thupparivaalan, under the direction of Mysskin, starring Vishal in the lead role along with an ensemble cast including Prasanna, Andrea Jeremiah and Simran. The movie was dubbed in Telugu and Hindi as Detective (2017) and Dashing Detective (2018), respectively. He is also associated with the 2017 movie Aayirathil Iruvar. His 2019 release include Nethraa, directed by A. Venkatesh.