Vijay | |
---|---|
President of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam | |
Assumed office 2 February 2024 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Personal details | |
Born | Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar 22 June 1974 Madras,Tamil Nadu,India |
Political party | Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (2024–present) |
Spouse | Sangeeta (m. 1999) |
Children | 2 |
Parents |
|
Relatives | See Chandrasekhar family |
Residence(s) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Occupation |
|
Awards | Full list |
Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar (born 22 June 1974), known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian actor and playback singer who works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning in just over 3 decades, Vijay has acted in over 65 films and is one of the most commercially successful actors in Tamil cinema with multiple films amongst the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time and is amongst the highest paid actors in India.
Born in Madras to director S. A. Chandrasekhar, Vijay made his debut as a child actor in the Tamil film Vetri (1984). After a view roles as a child actor in his father’s films, he played his first lead role in the film Naalaiya Theerpu (1992) at the age of 18. Vijay continued doing lead roles for the next few years with hat-trick results, notable films amongst them included Poove Unakkaga , Love Today , Kadhalukku Mariyadhai , Thulladha Manamum Thullum and Kushi . In 1998, he was awarded Kalaimaamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
In 2004, he starred in Ghilli , which became the first Tamil film to gross over ₹50 crore and with subsequent success of Thirupaachi and Pokkiri later, he established himself as one of the leading and commercially successful actors in Tamil cinema. Following a period of moderate success, Vijay acted in various critically and commercially successful films starting in the late 2010s including Thuppakki , Kaththi and Sarkar . He has won several awards as an actor.
Referred to as "Thalapathy" (transl. commander), Vijay has a significant fan following. In February 2024, Vijay announced his retirement from films and his entry into politics with the launch of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
He was featured in Eastern Eye top celebrities in Asia, and he is the only Tamil actor to feature among Bollywood actors in the list in 2023. [1]
Vijay was born as Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on 22 June 1974 in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu. [2] [3] His father, S. A. Chandrasekhar, is a film director and his mother, Shoba Chandrasekhar is a playback singer and vocalist. [4] His father is of Christian descent and his mother is a Hindu. [5] [6] Vijay had a sister, Vidhya, who died when she was two years old. [7] Vijay did his schooling initially at Fathima school, Kodambakkam and later at Balalok school, Virugambakkam. [8] [9] He pursued a bachelor degree in visual communication from Loyola College. [10]
At the age of 10, Vijay made his debut as a child actor in the Tamil film Vetri , produced by P. S. Veerappa in 1984. [11] He then acted as a child actor in films such as Kudumbam (1984), Vasantha Raagam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987) and Ithu Engal Neethi (1988). He also acted in a supporting role with Rajinikanth in Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985), directed by his father. [12]
Vijay played the lead role for the first time in Naalaiya Theerpu in 1992. [13] Vijay then appeared in the films Senthoorapandi , Rasigan , Deva and Coimbatore Mappillai , most of those were successful. [14] [15] In 1996, Vijay acted in Poove Unakkaga , directed by Vikraman, which according to him, gave him his initial break and popularity. [16] In 1997, Vijay acted in Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen and Love Today . [17] [18]
Later, he starred in commercially successful films such as Nerrukku Ner , Kadhalukku Mariyadhai , Ninaithen Vandhai , Priyamudan and Thulladha Manamum Thullum . [19] [20] In 1999, he then acted in the films Endrendrum Kadhal , Nenjinile, and Minsara Kanna . [21] In 2000, he acted in critically successful, Kannukkul Nilavu , which was his 25th film, alongside commercially successful romantic films, Kushi and Priyamaanavale . [19] In 2001, he acted in hat-trick box office successes; Friends, Badri and Shahjahan before starring in the action film Thamizhan alongside Priyanka Chopra in 2002. [22] Later, he appeared in the romantic film Youth and the action film Bagavathi in the same year. [23] Vijay began 2003 with Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai . [24]
In 2003, following the action-romance film Thirumalai , Vijay starred in Ghilli , directed by S. Dharani with Trisha and Prakash Raj. [25] The movie became a commercial success and became the first Tamil film to gross over ₹500 million at the domestic box office and also broke the record for the most people watching the movie within the first week of its release, previously held by M. G. Ramachandran's Adimai Penn (1969). [26] [27] [28] Following the same, he acted in Madhurey and Thirupaachi in 2005. [29] Later, he starred in the commercially successful films Sachein , Sivakasi and Pokkiri . [29] Pokkiri became one of the highest-grossing films of his career at the time. [30]
In late 2007, Vijay starred in the romantic thriller film Azhagiya Tamil Magan , where he played a dual roles of protagonist and antagonist. [31] The film was commercially successful outside India. [32] [33] Except the commercially successful, Kuruvi in 2008 [34] [35] and Vettaikaaran in 2009, his subsequent releases Azhagiya Tamil Magan and Villu were average successes at domestic box office while continuing to be more successful overseas. [36] [37] [38] Vijay continued to be one of the highest paid actors despite the moderate success of then recently released movies. [39]
In 2010, he acted in the action comedy film Sura , which was his 50th film as an actor. [40] [41] In early 2011, Vijay acted in the romantic comedy Kaavalan , directed by Siddique which received positive response and a box office collection of ₹102 crore worldwide. [42] [43] The film was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. [44] Kaavalan was a commercial success in China. [45] His next film was the action film Velayudham , directed by M. Raja which released during Diwali and became one of the top-grossing films of 2011. [26] The movie was also a critical success overseas. [46]
In 2012, Vijay acted in the commercially successful Nanban , a remake of successful Hindi film 3 Idiots . [47] [48] Later in the year, he acted in the action thriller Thuppakki , directed by A. R. Murugadoss. [49] The film became the third Tamil film to gross more than ₹100 crore domestically and became the most successful film of Vijay's career at the time, grossing over ₹121 crore. [50] His next film Thalaivaa , directed by A. L. Vijay, was released in August 2013 to mixed reviews. [51] [26] In 2014, he acted in Jilla which ended up as a box office hit. [52] [53] Vijay starred in the action thriller Kaththi , which received positive reviews and collected ₹130 crore at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films in 2014. [54]
In 2015, he starred in the fantasy film Puli , directed by Chimbu Deven, which received mixed to poor reviews from critics. [55] [56] Despite the reviews, the film was one of the highest-grossing films of 2015. [57] [58] [59] In April 2016, the action-thriller Theri directed by Atlee released to mixed reviews. [60] It became the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2016, grossing over ₹170 crore. [26] In 2017, the masala film Bairavaa was released, again to mixed reviews. [61] In 2017, the action thriller Mersal released, which became a commercial success, becoming the first of Vijay's films to gross over ₹250 crore. [54] [62] The film won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the National Film Awards UK in 2018 with Vijay earning a nomination for the best acroe. [63] The film was amongst the few films of Vijay to be released in Japan and China with further screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea. [64] [65] [66]
In 2018, Vijay acted in the political film Sarkar with Keerthy Suresh, which entered the 100 Crore Club within two days. [67] The film was released in 80 countries and became his second ever film to gross over ₹250 crore. [68] [69] [70] Vijay acted in a football action film Bigil , which released in 2019. [71] While the film received mixed reviews from critics, Vijay was praised for the portrayal of his character and the film was a commercial success, earning more than ₹300 crore. [72] [73] It was also the first Tamil film to be released in Egypt and Jordan. [74] In 2021, his next film Master , directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj was released. [75] [76] Upon release, it received mixed to positive reviews from viewers and critics. [77] [78] The film collected over ₹300 crore worldwide and was declared a box office hit. [79] His next film was the dark comedy action film Beast , which was released theatrically on 13 April 2022 and received mixed reviews from critics. [80] [81] [82] The movie performed well in overseas box office and was commercially successful, collecting more than ₹300 crore worldwide. [83] [84] [85] [86] It became one of the most viewed films on Netflix globally in 2022. [87] [88]
In 2023, Vijay starred in the action drama film Varisu directed by Vamshi Paidipally. [89] [90] The movie was a commercial hit, grossing over ₹300 crore at the box office. [91] [92] His next release of 2023 was the action thriller Leo in which he played the titular role. [93] [94] It received mixed reviews from critics, but went on to become a blockbuster and emerged as one of the highest grossing Indian films of the year with a gross more than ₹600 crore. [95] [96] His upcoming sci-fi film The Greatest of All Time which is set to be released theatrically worldwide on 5 September 2024 in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages. [97] [98] In February 2024, Vijay announced that he will be doing only one more film, which will be his 69th as lead actor. [99] [100]
In 2009, Vijay launched his fan club Vijay Makkal Iyakkam. [101] [102] The organization supported the AIADMK alliance in the 2011 assembly elections. [103] The fan club organization contested in the local body elections in Tamil Nadu in October 2021, securing victory in 115 out of the 169 contested seats. [104] On 2 February 2024, Vijay announced the launch of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. [105] [106] Political analysts suggested that, the TVK party might undergo its expansion to other states of India including North in the near future. [107] Vijay deemed the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 passed by the BJP government as unacceptable as it will disrupt the social religious harmony of the nation. [108]
Vijay married Sangeetha, a Sri Lankan Tamil on 25 August 1999. [109] [110] They have two children: a son Sanjay who briefly appeared alongside his father in Vettaikaaran, and a daughter Divya who appeared in her father's Theri. [111] [112]
As of 2021 [update] , Vijay's net worth is over ₹420 crore. [113] Vijay earned a ₹100 crore salary for Beast and also earned an estimated ₹120 crore—₹150 crore for Varisu. [114] [115] In 2023, he reportedly received a ₹200 crore salary, becoming one of the top paid actors in India. [116]
On 5 February 2020, the Income Tax Department raided Vijay's residence in Chennai on potential tax evasion and his investments in immovable properties. [117] [118] Later, the officials stated that nothing significant was found during the raid. [119] On 13 July 2021, the Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Vijay in 2012 seeking exemption of the Entry Tax for his Rolls-Royce Ghost car that was imported from the United Kingdom and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh. [120] On 27 July 2021, a two-judge bench of Madras High court stayed the earlier order. [121] On 25 January 2022, the court dismissed the critical statements made by the earlier judge and on 15 July 2022, the court declared that no fine shall be imposed. [122] [123] [124]
In 1998, Vijay was awarded the Kalaimaamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Vijay received an honorary doctorate from the Dr. M.G.R. Educational Institute for of his achievements in the film industry in 2007. [125] Vijay was awarded the Best International Actor of 2018 in the United Kingdom for his role in Mersal. [126] He has received numerous other awards and accolades for his acting. [127] [128]
News 18 describes Vijay as a "versatile actor" and a "fantastic playback singer, dancer and philanthropist". [129] [130] He has been praised for his dancing with The Times of India labelling Vijay's dance moves as "energetic and effortless". [131] [132] [133] He has been praised for his acting skills with Zee Media reporting that Vijay amazed audiences with his acting and screen presence. [134]
Referred to as Thalapathy (transl. commander), Vijay has a significant fan following. [135] In 2019, a wax figure of Vijay was unveiled in a museum in Kanyakumari. [136] [137] Vijay secured #8 spot in Eastern Eye magazine among top celebrities in Asia and he is the only Tamil actor to feature among Bollywood actors in the list in 2023. [1]
His 2007 film Azhagiya Tamil Magan re-released on 22 March 2024 and acquired hit status in Tamil Nadu. [138] His other re-releases, Ghilli and Pokkiri acquired all-time hit status worldwide with Ghilli reaching the ₹100 crore mark. [139]
Ghilli ( transl. Gutsy) is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language sports action film directed by Dharani and produced by Sri Suriya Movies. It is a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu (2003), written and directed by Gunasekhar, with few changes made to the story. The film stars Vijay in the lead role, alongside Trisha, Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dhamu, Mayilsamy, Janaki Sabesh, Nancy Jennifer, Nagendra Prasad, Ponnambalam and Pandu. The film is about a Kabaddi player, who goes to Madurai to participate in a exhibition match, but instead rescues a woman from a gang leader, who lforces her to marry him.
Kuruvi is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Dharani. It is produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin under Red Giant Movies. The film stars Vijay in the lead role alongside Trisha, Suman, Vivek, Ashish Vidyarthi and Manivannan.
Puli is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language fantasy action adventure film written and directed by Chimbu Deven. The film stars Vijay in a dual role as demon prince, and his son a half-demon, alongside Hansika Motwani and Shruti Haasan in the female leads. Sudeep features as the main antagonist of the film, along with Prabhu and Nandita Swetha in cameo roles. Sridevi features as the possessed evil Queen Yavanarani, in her return to the Kollywood industry and was her last Tamil film.
Vijay is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He made his cinematic debut in 1984 with Vetri, directed by his father, Chandrasekhar. After appearing in Chandrasekhar's films as a child artist, Vijay made his debut as a lead actor with Naalaiya Theerpu (1992) at the age of 18. He followed it with a role opposite Vijayakanth in Senthoorapandi (1993). Vijay went on to play lead roles in his father's directorial ventures such as Rasigan (1994) and Deva (1995). Most of those films were successful commercially.
Arun Kumar, known professionally as Atlee, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer best known for his work in Tamil cinema. He initially worked as an assistant director under S. Shankar in the films Enthiran (2010) and Nanban (2012). He made his directorial debut with the film Raja Rani (2013), produced by Fox Star Studios, for which he was awarded Best Debut Director by the Vijay Award and the Tamil Nadu State award for best dialogue writer.
Mersal (transl. Zapped) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Atlee and produced by Thenandal Studio Limited, in the studio's hundredth film production. The film stars Vijay in triple roles, alongside S. J. Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen. Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Hareesh Peradi, Kovai Sarala and Sathyan play supporting roles. It is the second out of the three collaboration between Vijay and Atlee, before they began working with others. The film follows two twin brothers who were separated at birth; Vetri, a vigilante magician who is against the medical crimes and Maaran, a reputed doctor who charges meagre amounts from his patients.
Sarkar (transl. Government) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures. The dialogues were co-written by Murugadoss and B. Jeyamohan. The film stars Vijay, Keerthy Suresh and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in the lead roles, while Yogi Babu, Tulasi, Radha Ravi and Pala. Karuppiah play supporting roles. It follows Sundar Ramaswamy, a corporate raider, who arrives in Tamil Nadu from the United States to cast his vote in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, only to find that his vote has already been recorded as cast, which leads him to raises awareness against electoral fraud and contest as a non-partisan politician in the elections amidst several attempts made on his life and reputation.
Nelson Dilipkumar is an Indian director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He started his career with a feature film in 2010 with Vettai Mannan, starring Silambarasan. However, it was shelved due to various reasons. He later directed Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), making his debut in the industry. He directed Doctor (2021) featuring Sivakarthikeyan, which emerged a commercial success during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by Beast (2022), with Vijay in the lead role, which emerged as one of the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2022. He then worked on Jailer (2023), which became his most successful film; it became one of the highest-grossing Indian film, earning over ₹600 crore (US$72 million) worldwide, collaborating with Rajinikanth. He is one of the highest paid director
Bigil (transl. Whistle) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language sports action drama film directed by Atlee and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in dual roles, alongside an ensemble cast of Nayanthara, Jackie Shroff, Vivek, Kathir, Daniel Balaji, Anandaraj, Yogi Babu, I. M. Vijayan, Arjan Bajwa, Indhuja Ravichandran, Reba Monica John and Amritha Aiyer. It is the third and final collaboration of Vijay with Atlee after Theri (2016) and Mersal (2017). The film follows Michael "Bigil", a footballer-turned-gangster, who decides to coach a women's football team when their coach gets attacked.
Darbar ( transl. Court) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, Suniel Shetty, Nayanthara and Nivetha Thomas. It follows Aaditya Arunasalam (Rajinikanth), the commissioner of Mumbai Police, who sets out to curb the city's rampant drug-trafficking and prostitution. When he uncovers a deep controversy linked to an international drug lord, however, he tries to fulfill his secret agenda.
Lokesh Kanagaraj is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Tamil cinema. He started his career with a short film in the 2016 anthology Aviyal. He later directed his first feature film Maanagaram (2017). He created the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) franchise after the commercial success of Kaithi (2019), the franchise's first installment. He directed Master (2021), a standalone featuring Vijay. This was followed by Vikram (2022), the second installment in the LCU, with Kamal Haasan in the lead role, which emerged as one of the highest grossing Tamil films.
Amritha Aiyer is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil and Telugu language films. Starting her career in Malayalam film industry with Padmavyooham (2012) in an uncredited role to supporting role in Tamil film industry with Tenaliraman (2014), she made her Lead female role debut with the Tamil film Padaiveeran in 2018 and has since starred in the Tamil films Bigil (2019) and Lift (2021) and Telugu films Red (2021), and Hanu Man (2024).
Master is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by XB Film Creators. The film stars Vijay in the lead role as the protagonist and Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist. Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Arjun Das, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj and Gouri G. Kishan play supporting roles. It is also co-produced by Vijay's manager, Jagadish Palanisamy, jointly with Seven Screen Studio, which also distributed the film. The film follows John Durairaj "J.D.", an alcoholic professor, who takes a three-month teaching job in a juvenile home and clashes with a ruthless gangster named Bhavani, who uses the children as the scapegoat for his criminal activities.
Beast is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language comedy action thriller film written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film stars Vijay and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles, alongside Selvaraghavan, Shaji Chen, VTV Ganesh, Ankur Vikal, Aparna Das, Sathish Krishnan, Shine Tom Chacko, Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley. In the film, Veera Raghavan, an ex-RAW agent, seeks to rescue hostages in a shopping mall, which is hijacked by terrorists, whose intentions are to free their leader Umar Farooq, who was previously captured by Veera.
Varisu ( transl. Heir) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Vamshi Paidipally, who co-wrote the film with Hari, Ashishor Solomon and Vivek Velmurugan. Produced jointly by Dil Raju and Sirish under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP Cinema. The film stars an ensemble cast of Vijay, Rashmika Mandanna, R. Sarathkumar, Srikanth, Shaam, Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Sangeetha, Samyuktha Shanmughanadhan, Nandini Rai, Yogi Babu, Ganesh Venkatraman, S. J. Suryah and Suman. It focuses on an entrepreneur's youngest son being named the chairman of his father's business, much to the dismay of his two brothers.
Leo is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Seven Screen Studio. The film stars Vijay in the titular role, alongside Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Trisha, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Mysskin, Madonna Sebastian, George Maryan, Mansoor Ali Khan, Priya Anand and Mathew Thomas. It is the third instalment in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe and is partially inspired by A History of Violence. The film follows Parthi, a café owner and animal rescuer in Theog, who is pursued by gangsters Antony and Harold Das who suspect him to be Antony's estranged son, Leo.
The Greatest of All Time is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in dual roles, alongside Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Ajmal Ameer, Jayaram, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren and Yugendran. It is the twenty-fifth production of the studio and the penultimate film of Vijay before his political entry. The film follows Gandhi, former leader of a special anti-terrorist squad, who reconciles with his squad members to address the problems which were stemmed from their previous actions.
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