One of the most prominent comedians in the South Indian film industry, Vivek is known for his versatility; he is an actor, TV personality, and playback singer prominently working in the Tamil industry. The actor, who is one of the many finds of the acclaimed director, K. Balalchander, Vivek made his debut with Manathil Uruthi Vendum (1987) and in his illustrious career spanning more than 25 years, he has appeared in more than 100 films and along the way won several awards including three Filmfare Awards for Best Comedian. For his immense contribution to Tamil cinema, the Government of India honoured him with the coveted Padma Shri, the third-highest civilian award. Apart from being an actor, Vivek has also hosted many events as well as has interviewed several noted personalities including A.R. Rahman, Rajinikanth and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Few of his most notable films include Keladi Kanmani (1990), Thayagam (1996), Unnaithedi (1999), Dhill (2001), Thamizhan (2002), Perazhagan (2004), Anniyan (2005), Sivaji (2007), Singam (2010), Velaiyilla Pattathari, Kashmora (2016), Velai Illa Pattathari 2 (2017), Thiruttuppayale 2 (2017), Ezhumin (2018), Viswasam (2019), Athiran (2019), Oththa Seruppu Size-7 (2019), Bigil (2019) and Dharala Prabhu (2020). Vivek died on April 17, 2021 after suffering a cardiac arrest. His 2021 movie Anukoni Athidhi, a Telugu dubbed version of Athiran, was released posthumously.