I. M. Vijayan Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Inivalappil Mani Vijayan [1]I M Vijayan – Official Website
Nickname	Kalo Harin (Black Buck) [2]I M Vijayan – Official Website
Profession(s)	Former Footballer, Actor, Assistant Commandant in Kerala Police
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 180 cm in meters- 1.80 m in feet & inches- 5’ 11”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 70 kg in pounds- 155 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Football
Debut	Club Football- 1987 International- 1989
Retirement	International Football- 31 October 2003 Club Football- 1 July 2006
Jersey Number	#10
Position	Forward
Coach/Mentor	A.M. Sreedharan, Sukhwinder Singh, Syed Nayeemuddin, Rustom Akramov, Stephen Constantine
Records (main ones)	• In 1999, he scored a goal in just 12 seconds during India's match against Bhutan in the SAF Games. • He is the first person to win the (All India Football Federation) AIFF Player of the Year Award three times. (1993, 1997, 1999)
Awards, Honours	• In 1993, he became the inaugural winner of the AIFF Player of the Year Award and won it again in 1997 and 1999. • In 2003, he received the Arjuna Award. • He was named the best player in the Nehru Cup tournament (1993). • In June 2021, the Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk, Russia awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contributions to football.
Acting
Debut	Film (Malayalam): Akasthile Paravakal (2001) Film (Tamil): Thimiru (2006) as Chinna Karuppu
Personal Life
Date of Birth	25 April 1969 (Friday)
Age (as of 2024)	55 years
Birthplace	Thrissur, Kerala, India
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Thrissur, Kerala, India
School	Church Mission Society High School, Thrissur, Kerala, India
College/University	Did Not Attend
Education Qualification	Class 8th dropout [3]Outlook
Religion	Hinduism [4]Outlook
Caste	Dalit [5]Sportstar
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian
Tattoo(s)	He got numerous tattoos inked on his body, including a tattoo of Maradona's name and his jersey number on one of his legs.
Controversy	• In 2001, I. M. Vijayan was fined a sum of 50,000 rupees when he failed to obtain the ITC (International Transfer Certificate) required to play in India as he had played in the Dhaka Premier Division League in Bangladesh before the beginning of the 2001-2002 season of the domestic football league in India.
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	18 August 1994
Affairs/Girlfriends	Raji Vijayan (1992-1994) Note: Vijayan met Raji for the first time when he attended the Sree Murugan festival at the Koorkencherry Temple in Thrissur with a friend named Jayan on 27 January 1992. He reportedly fell in love with Raji there and expressed his desire to marry her through Jayan.
Family
Wife/Spouse	Raji Vijayan
Children	Son- 1 • Aromal Vijayan (performance analyst at Gokulam Kerala FC) Daughter(s)- 2 • Abhirami (Ally) Vijayan • Archana Vijayan
Parents	Father- Ayinivalappil Mani (deceased; worked as a daily wage labourer at a hotel named Sree Krishna Bhavan) Mother- Kochammu Vijayan (deceased) (daily wage labourer; worked with Mani at the hotel Sree Krishna Bhavan)
Siblings	Brother- Biju Vijayan (he died in 2018 at the age of 52 after he met with an accident after a scooter-car collision) [6]Onmanorama

Some Lesser Known Facts About I. M. Vijayan

• I. M. Vijayan is a former Indian footballer-turned-actor and member of the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

• He faced extreme poverty during his childhood. Vijayan was late for his classes as he went to play football matches every morning. He excelled in football from a young age and followed the football games, which were held at the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium, near his home.
  

  A photo of Vijayan taken during his young days

• He used to sell soda at 10 paise per bottle during football matches at the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium to support his family.

• According to Vijayan, he failed five times in the fifth standard while studying at the Church Mission Society High School. In an interview, he pointed out that he was always late for classes as he never skipped his morning football practices at the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium. He further said that since he was the eldest in his class, the new students, who came into class fifth each year, referred to him as Vijayan Chetta (elder brother).
  

  A photograph of I. M. Vijayan from a pre-match training session

• Vijayan became a part of his school’s football team and participated in various school competitions. During an interview, he admitted to having limited proficiency in spoken Hindi. He also mentioned that when he was chosen to represent the school in a football match in Kashmir, his Hindi teacher assisted him by teaching him a few Hindi phrases so that he could converse. He talked about it and said,
  

  He also warned me never to ask for “chor” (rice in Malayalam and thief in Hindi) and advised me to ask for “chaval” instead.”

• He lost his father at the age of twelve and started helping his mother who used to collect scraps and waste papers to support the family.

• At the age of 17, he was able to impress the then-coach of the Kerala Police football club A. M. Sreedharan and was selected for the team. He played for the club for five seasons and scored 33 goals for them.

• The 1989 Quilon Nationals, became a milestone in his professional career. He was able to impress the national football selection committee with his performances in the competition.

• He made his debut for the Indian national football team in 1989 and scored 32 goals in 77 matches during his international career. He also captained the team.

• In 1991, he left the Kerala Police football club to join Mohun Bagan. This move helped him achieve his dream of building a house and provided him with financial security.
  

  A photograph of I. M. Vijayan from his days as a Mohun Bagan player

• However, in 1992, he returned to Kerala in the next season and played with them before making his return to Mohun Bagan in 1993.

• Vijayan joined the JCT Mills Phagwara in 1994 and played for them till 1997. JCT won the first edition of the National Football League (NFL) in 1996-1997

• In 1997, he joined FC Kochin in their debut season and won the Durand Cup.
  

  I. M. Vijayan and Chapman receiving the Durand Cup

• In an interview, the former Indian national football team coach Sukhwinder Singh stated that he was lucky to have coached Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, and Sunil Chhetri.
  

  I. M. Vijayan with Chhetri and Bhutia

• The documentary film titled ‘Kalo Harin’ directed by Cherian Joseph is based on the life of Vijayan.

• He made his return to Mohun Bagan in 1998. This was his third and final stint for the club and he left the club at the end of the season. He scored 51 goals for Mohun Bagan across three seasons.

• In the same year, a documentary titled Kalo Harin, based on his life, was released.

• In 2001, he made his debut in the Malayalam film industry with Jayaraj’s directorial Shantham, and he debuted in the Tamil film industry with Thimiru (2006) directed by Tarun Gopi.
  

  A photograph of I. M. Vijayan from the film Shantam

• Vijayan rejoined FC Kochin in 1999, but the club failed to emulate their previous glory, and he left the club at the end of 2002.

• In 2002, he signed a two-year contract with JCT Mills Phagwara, and he scored 29 goals during his stint with the club.

• He played for Churchill Brothers S.C. between 2004 and 2005 and left them to join East Bengal in 2005. This was his final season as a professional football player, and he bid farewell at the end of the season.

• Vijayan and his wife, Raji, were featured on the cover of Mangalam Weekly magazine
  

  I. M. Vijayan appeared on the cover page of Mangalam Weekly magazine with his wife

• On 17 July 2010, he joined Southern Samity as their head coach.

• Vijayan was an ardent supporter of the Sevens football format, which is popular in Kerala, India. He was often seen participating in the sevens football tournaments after announcing his retirement as a professional football player. He owns the Sevens football club, Usha FC Thrissur, which was named after his mother.
  

  I. M. Vijayan playing in a match in 2010

• Vijayan was a Brazil supporter during his early days, he later started supporting Argentina after he fell in love with Diego Maradona. In 2012, he met with Maradona in Kannur, Kerala, India. Vijayan has even got inked Maradona’s name and his Jersey number, 10, on his leg.

• In 2013, as an armed police inspector, Vijayan earned a monthly salary of Rs. 33,357.

• In 2015, Vijayan’s mother, Kochammu, passed away. It was she who raised both Vijayan and his brother after the death of his father. In 2018, his brother, Biju, met with an accident in Thrissur, Kerala. His condition was critical, and he passed away shortly.

• In the same year, Vijayan was invited to a reality TV show named Comedy Super Nite as a guest. The show was aired on Flowers Channel. On the show, he revealed that as a footballer, he made two records in his school.

• In 2017, he was named the national observer of football by the Government of India, and in 2022, he became a member of the technical committee of the AIFF.

• In 2019, he expressed his desire not to contest Lok Sabha elections on an INC ticket. Reportedly, he was approached to contest elections by Anil Akkara, an INC MLA in Kerala.

• AIFF recommended his name for the Padma Shri Award in 2020.

• He played the lead role in the Malayalam film ‘Mmmmm,’ which won the Best Film (feature) award at the 2021 Paris Film Festival. ^[7]Mathrubhumi Prior to the film Mmmmm, he appeared in many South Indian films including Quotation (2004), Asuravithu (2012), Abrahaminte Santhathikal (2018), and Muddy (2021).
  

  I. M. Vijayan at the set of the film ‘Mmmm’

• In 2021, he was promoted to the rank of assistant commandant.

• I. M. Vijayan was a spectator in all the FIFA World Cup tournaments from 2002 (Japan and South Korea) to 2022 (Qatar). In 2022, he witnessed his favourite team, Argentina, lifting the trophy.

• According to Raji, she and Vijayan dated each other for ten years, during which they spent only ten days together.