107 Facts About Vijay (Actor)

Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar was born on 22 June 1974, and known mononymously as Vijay, is an Indian actor, dancer, playback singer and philanthropist who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and appeared in other Indian languages films.

Vijay has significant fan following globally and has acted in 65 films as a lead actor.

Vijay has won numerous awards, including eight Vijay Awards by Star India, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards by Government of Tamil Nadu, and a SIIMA Award.

Vijay has been included several times in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities.

Vijay rose to prominence in the 90s as a romantic hero performing in many romance silver jubilee films.

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Vijay played anti-hero roles as a hyper-possessive lover in Priyamudan, followed by a play-boy in Azhagiya Tamil Magan.

Vijay continued to achieve success during the 2000s with cult films including Thirupaachi, Sachein, Sivakasi, Pokkiri and Vettaikaaran.

Vijay was appointed the brand ambassador for several endorsements, notably the American Embassy for 'V go Green' global awareness campaign movement, and the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings.

Vijay was born as Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on 22 June 1974 in Madras, Tamil Nadu.

Vijay's father S A Chandrasekhar is a Tamil film director and his mother Shoba Chandrasekhar is a playback singer and carnatic vocalist.

Vijay was baptised at the of age of 12 as he was born in a Catholic family.

Vijay had a sister Vidhya, who died when she was two years old.

Vijay eventually dropped out as he was more interested in acting.

At the age of 10, Vijay started his film career as a child actor in the film Vetri and then performed as child actor in films such as Kudumbam, Vasantha Raagam, Sattam Oru Vilayaattu and Ithu Engal Neethi.

Vijay performed as child actor in Naan Sigappu Manithan co-starring Rajinikanth as lead actor.

Vijay acted in two old visual formats of cinema such as Eastmancolor in 80s and Color film from 90s.

Vijay appeared alongside Vijayakanth in Sendhoorapandi, which performed well only to a certain extent at the box office.

Vijay had lead roles in films such as Deva and Rajavin Parvaiyile, wherein the latter he co-starred with actor Ajith Kumar.

Vijay then acted with veteran Tamil actor Jaishankar in the successful romantic comedy Vishnu.

In 1996, Vijay performed in the Vikraman-directed Poove Unakkaga, which became his first critically acclaimed performance as well as the breakthrough in Vijay's career and made him a recognizable star.

Vijay starred in the Mani Ratnam-produced successful family-drama movie Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth co-starring debutant Suriya, as the story revolves among the tussle between the in-laws, and the film received critical acclaim.

Vijay then, performed as a college student in Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, directed by Fazil, earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.

In 1998, Vijay worked in the successful movies as a person caught up in love-triangle in Ninaithen Vandhai and a hyper-possessive lover in Priyamudan both were critically acclaimed in which, New Straits Times Malaysian magazine in 1998 lauded Vijay's diverse role performance as an anti-hero in Priyamudan, calling it a love story with a difference.

Vijay then performed as a Christian youth-falling-in-love with a Hindu girl in Nilaave Vaa.

In 1999, Vijay acted in debutant Ezhil's Thulladha Manamum Thullum as a passionate singer, with Simran, which ran for more than 200 days at the Tamil Nadu box office and earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film.

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From 2000, Vijay began to commit to entertaining ventures, which marked a change in trend.

Vijay began 2003 with the comedy film Vaseegara and the supernatural film Pudhiya Geethai.

In late 2003, Vijay starred in the action-romance flick Thirumalai, co-starring Jyothika, directed by debutant Ramana and produced by K Balachander's Kavithalaya Productions, which featured him in a different way.

Vijay then, played a guest appearance in his father's direction Sukran.

In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, a remake of the Telugu film of the same name, directed by Prabhu Deva.

Pokkiri received rave reviews, and Sify magazine said that Vijay's Pokkiri was "enjoyable for its humour and action sequences while it lasts".

In late 2007, Vijay starred in the romantic thriller film Azhagiya Tamil Magan, directed by Bharathan, who made his directorial debut with this film.

Vijay played a dual role for the first time in his career.

Vijay played the roles of both the antagonist and protagonist.

Vijay was honoured with people's choice Superstar award in 2008 Vijay TV awards ceremony.

The year 2009 commenced with the neo-noir action film Villu, in which Vijay teamed up again with Prabhu Deva and played another dual role.

In 2009, Vijay was the highest paid actor after Rajnikanth and Kamal haasan, and Vijay received 10 crore highest salary than other contemporaries for his films.

In early 2011, Vijay joined up with director Siddique again, for the romantic comedy Kaavalan, a Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard.

Vijay again experimented as a superhero for the third time in Velayudham, in which his costume and fighting style had resemblances to the Assassin's Creed franchise with critics cited, he was apt in that role.

Vijay made a special cameo song appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore, directed by Prabhu Deva.

Vijay, was released on 9 August 2013 worldwide to mixed reports, and had a delayed release in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay again worked with AR Murugadoss in the action thriller Kaththi, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Neil Nitin Mukesh and produced by Ayngaran International, which was released on Diwali 2014 to mostly positive reviews.

Vijay played dual roles as a criminal-minded thief and an idealist.

In late 2013, Deven restarted preliminary work on the fantasy film and narrated the script to Vijay, who expressed interest in being a part of the project.

Since director Deven is a cartoonist, The film's half-demon theme was loosely based on Japanese hit anime manga series Inuyasha, similar to which, Vijay played a "Tiger-demon" with tiger's teeth and blue eyes.

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Vijay again worked with Bharathan of Azhagiya Tamil Magan fame titled Bairavaa a low-budget flick.

Bairavaa received mixed reviews from audiences and critics praising the action sequences and Vijay's coin flipping style, and Bairavaa collected 115 crore at the box office.

Vijay learnt a few magic tricks in preparation for his role as a magician, learning from the magicians, Gogo Requiem from Macedonia, Raman Sharma from Canada, and Dani Belev from Bulgaria.

Vijay plays a doctor; the character, Maaran, was inspired from Dr Balasubramanian, a doctor who hailed from Bodinayakkanur, Theni district, and charged from patients.

Subsequently, Vijay had undergone special training in football, with the sequences being choreographed by popular sports choreographers Aimee McDaniel and Justin Skinner.

Vijay's Master received a twitter emoji ahead of its release from Twitter.

Beast symbolises the demon Rahu as it eclipses sun and the moon mercilessly; Vijay in the film had similar traits to that, and he was a shotgun-wielding beast in the film.

News portal reported that "Beast Vijay's performance as a raw agent is a mix of both Rambo and James Bond in action in the dark humour film".

On 26 September 2021, Vijay joined director Vamshi Paidipally for his 66th film produced by Telugu film producer Dil Raju.

Vijay's first Hindi film appearance was a cameo in the song Chinta Chinta of the film Rowdy Rathore, co-starring Prabhu Deva, was well received by Hindi audiences.

Vijay's Sarkar was the all-time top opener in India and outran Hindi film Sanju.

Inclusive of his film acting and singing ability, Vijay had performed some difficult dance moves in the songs featured in his films.

Vijay performed his hook step in the dance song "Jolly O Gymkhana" sung by himself and his dance moves became viral on social media.

Beast film song Arabic Kuthu gained more popularity among audiences with Vijay's dance moves being appreciated and it was a hit in South Korea.

Vijay has been included several times in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities.

Vijay has achieved that benchmark twice with Mersal and Sarkar.

From 2019, Vijay has surpassed Rajinikanth in overseas markets as well.

Vijay's Master earned $30 million lifetime overseas earnings due to his stardom globally.

When it comes to the UK, Sri Lanka, and France, Vijay has become the biggest superstar with supreme box office numbers.

In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings.

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Vijay experimented with superhero roles and found mediocre success with films Kuruvi, Sura, Velayudham and Puli.

Vijay is a unique versatile actor, since he has played variety of roles with different genres and sometimes with different looks.

Vijay is best known for his romantic films, action thriller films and drama films.

Vijay's unique acting skills surfaced with characters in grey shades such as Vasanth in film Priyamudan and Prasad in Azhagiya Tamil Magan.

Some film critics in the early 2000s stated that its really hard to make out Vijay has acted in a film, its like he has lived that character in the film.

In 2010s and 20s, Vijay's unique acting skills were overshadowed by his dancing skills, so moviegoers identify Vijay as a dancer more than an actor.

Parallel to commercial cinema, Vijay took initiative and performed diverse roles of disability people as an amnesia suffering musician in Kannukul Nilavu, stammering aged gangster in Bigil and a depressed alcoholic professor in Master which showcased his acting skills to a different style of performances.

Vijay broke the taboo of his usual performance and performed a stoic raw agent character showing mild reactions surrounded by dark comedic characters in the film Beast.

Zee media reported that Vijay has amazed the audience with his acting skills and screen presence whereas, Times of India lauded him for his intrigue punch dialogues in his films.

On his birthday, 22 June 2007, Vijay presented golden rings to the newborn babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital.

Vijay had participated in fasts organised by the South Indian Film Artistes Association and by the technicians of Tamil film industry before conducting his own eight-hour fast on 16 November 2008.

Vijay led the fast along with his parents, S A Chandrasekhar and Shoba, in Chepauk, Tamil Nadu.

Vijay's fans observed fast at various places in the state, including Tirunelveli, Tiruchirapalli, Pudukkottai, Madurai, Erode, Vellore and Dharmapuri districts.

Vijay founded the social welfare organisation, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, which was officially launched in July 2009, which is responsible for much of his philanthropic work.

In November 2014, Vijay assisted the daughter of a tea stall owner to obtain admission to a private college in Kodambakkam.

On 21 January 2017, Vijay rendered his voice and support to Jallikattu protests by anonymously joining the protesters in Chennai, hiding his face with a hanky.

On 11 September 2017, Vijay offered financial aid to the family of a girl who committed suicide after failing to secure a medical seat in NEET exams.

On 7 June 2018, Vijay offered financial aid to the families of the Thoothukudi police gunfire victims who protested against the Sterlite Copper plant.

On 22 August 2018, Vijay distributed 70 lakh worth of relief materials to flood affected victims with the help of his fan club district heads in various parts of Kerala.

On 6 April 2021, Vijay cycled to his polling booth to cast his vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, and netizens pointed out he used his bicycle for the awareness against the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

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In 2011, Vijay met and expressed his support to Anna Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal against corruption in politics held at Ramlila Maidan.

Vijay always faced controversies for his strong political statements made by him in his films, and it projected on his real life political career.

In 2021, Vijay issued a legal statement that his fans should not indulge his name in any political purposes including not to merge his photos with political leaders in film posters, and to avoid controversial political tag lines in fan made posters.

On 26 October 2021, Vijay met and urged his VMI members won in electoral polls to work towards flagging people's basic problems to the State and Central governments, and work towards solving them.

Vijay married his fiancee, Sangeetha Sornalingam, a Sri Lankan Tamil whom he met in the United Kingdom, on 25 August 1999.

Vijay was investigated while he was busy shooting for his film Master in Cuddalore.

On 15 July 2021, Vijay filed an appeal against defamatory statements made by the Judge S M Subramaniam against him in Madras High court.

Vijay always had a different aspect of philosophical view on films, politics and life lessons.

In many of his interviews, Vijay has mentioned that he finds films as just a pure business field with entertainment and he is one among those, and he has asked the audience to take the lighthearted positive message only from his films and leave off the harsh negative ones.

Vijay said in an interview that "I have faith in god and it has to be; I go to church, temple, dargah and felt the divine presence".

At one time, Vijay even said that "The crown on your head can be heavy, but your head should not be heavy at all".

Vijay earned 100 crore salary for Beast and surpassed Rajnikanth's salary, and earned an estimated 120 crore—150 crore for his 66th film, marking him among the highest paid Indian actors.

Vijay has received global recognition for his film acting and dance work.

Vijay's Vaathi coming dance video had a cultural impact on several sportsperson including the Indian cricketer Ashwin and Australian cricketer David Warner grooved to the song.

Many trade analysts reported that "it doesn't matter how average the film is, Vijay can pull [the box office] up and even his average films collect huge".

Vijay is referred by his epithet "Thalapathy Vijay" in his films, and "Thalapathy" stands for commander.

In 2018 Twitter survey, Vijay was one of the 'Most talked about Indian personalities'.

In 2018, Times of India reported that Vijay managed to pull a huge crowd of his North Indian fans gathered to see a glimpse of him in Kolkata.

In 2021, Vijay's VMI inaugurated a statue of him in Karnataka state.

Vijay received the Mathrubhumi award in 2007 and Asianet award in 2010 from Kerala state.

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Vijay was awarded the 'Best International Actor of 2018' in United Kingdom.

Vijay won as the 'Most Trusted Indian Personality of 2019' on a survey.