Vijay turns 51 today

Joseph Vijay was born on 22 June 1974 to star couple – Director SA Chandhrasekar and singer Shoba. Shoba began her singing career with the famous song Maharaja oru Maharani from the Sivaji Ganesan starre, Iru Malargal.

Vijay was a talkative, naughty and energetic child but that changed drastically after the death of his younger sister, Vidhya, at the age of 2. He became withdrawn and a very private person, remaining pretty much the same to this day.

He made his debut as a child actor at the age of 10 in Vetri – directed by his father and produced by P.S. Veerappa. After making numerous appearances as a child star under his father’s direction – including Rajinikanth’s Naan Sigappu Manithan – Vijay made his debut as a lead actor at the age of 18 in the film Naallaye Theerpu, written and directed by his father. Some of the critics were extremely harsh on Vijay’s debut, using personal attacks on his looks in their reviews. The film was a moderate success but the harsh comments from some critics left him emotionally scarred for a very long time.

His talents got a wider audience when he co-starred with Vijayakanth in Sendhoora Paandi but many maintained that Vijay would never survive without the help of his father. Once again, Vijay proved his critics wrong with his first film for another director. Titled Poove Unakaage, the film was a blockbuster and made Vijay a much sought after star, especially after successive hits with Vasantha Vaasal, Maanbumigu Maanavan , Selva, Kaalamellaam Kaatiruppen and Love Today.  Vijay’s career graph continued its upward trajectory with films like Once More where he co-starred with Sivaji Ganesan and Mani Ratnam’s production, Nerukku Nehr which introduced Surya to the film world. Vijay’s blockbuster hit in Faasil’s Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai rocketed him to new heights. Thullaadha Manamum Thullum further cemented his position in the industry and firmly locked him as the romantic hero of choice.

Vijay began the 2000s with hits like Kushi, Priyamaanavalle, Friends and Badhri. Although Shah Jahaan was razed by the critics, it went on to become a commercially successful film.

The romantic hero image Vijay had gained with Poove Unakaage, Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai, Thullaaadha Manumum Thullum and his screen successes thereafter, the imagechanged to that of an action hero with the success of Thirumalai. With the record-breaking success of Ghilli, a new era in Vijay’s career began. Despite some misses with some of his script choices, Vijay’s popularity grew exponentially and he soon became the most saleable star after Rajinikanth.  

Then came a wobble with Azhagiya Thamizh Magan in which he played his first dual role, and Villu were average grossers. His highly anticipated 50^th film – Sura – was trolled by the critics and barely managed to recover its cost at the box-office.

He bounced back with Kaavalan and continued this streak until Simbhudeven’s Puli which failed to meet expectations and survived because of its success outside of India.

The last round of Vijay’s films, beginning with Theri became a showing of Vijay’s strength at the box-office, regardless of what the critics said about them. This trend continued with Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Leo setting a record for the highest grossing film of Vijay’s career, and The GOAT setting a new international record in its first day.

You can watch Vijay’s first interview in English below.

Vijay as singer

Vijjay sang his first song Bombay City in the 1994 film, Rasigan and has sung 40 songs thus far for various music composers, including Illaiyaraja, A.R. Rahman, Yuvanshankar Raja,  Deva, Vidhyasagar, Anirudh Ravichander, G.V. Prakash Kumar, Harris Jayaraj, D. Imman, Devi Sri Prasad, Santhosh Narayanan and Thaman S.

Vijay’s Awards

He is the receipient of the Kalaimaamani award in 1998 and a honorary doctorate. He won Tamil Nadu state awards for Best Actor in Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai, Thulaadha Manamum Thullum and Thirupaachi.. He has also won dozens of other state and international awards for his various films.

Vijay’s political career

Vijay first expressed an interest in politics just prior to the release of Minsaara Kanna. He then said that he had no interest in politics, but that changed again in 1999 when he launched Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a formal structure that went beyond a fan club. In 2023, Vijay once again expressed a desire to enter the political arena and subsequently launched his own political party – Thamilaga Vetri Kazhagam – on 02 February 2024. He also announced before the release of The GOAT that his next film – Jana Naayagan – would be his last film.

Vijay’s personal life

He is married to Sangeetha, a Sri-Lankan born Tamilian who was residing in London. They have two children. Sanjay appeared alongside Vijay in Vettaikaaran and will soon make his debut as a film director. Their daughter, Divya appeared in Vijay’s Atlee directorial, Theri.

Vijay turns 51 today.