OPINION PIECE: Vijay – What went wrong?

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal opinions of the writer.

He was number 1 at the box-office and still enjoys a fanatical following. He overcame numerous obstacles to achieve this position and, in so doing, became a source of inspiration and motivation across age groups. It should have been a great success story, but there were early indications that the cost of his fame was way too high.

What happened to the lovable boy-next-door type who ruled the Tamil Nadu box-office?

His story should be closely examined by people with a psychology background, but this article will provide a personal analysis of his story.

It is common knowledge that Vijay was a fun-loving youngster before the death of his sister, Vidhya, when she was only two. The tragedy affected him deeply and he became a reserved and quiet person, never truly recovering from her death.

After numerous appearances as a child star in films directed by his father, S.A. Chandrasekhar, Vijay made his debut as a lead actor in the 1992 film Naalaiya Theerpu, written and directed by his father, and produced by his mother, Shobha Chandrasekhar. The film was not only a box-office failure, it also saw critics harshly criticize Vijay in very personal terms, criticizing his looks and what they saw as a total lack of talent. Criticism is part of an actor’s life, but the intensely personal attacks left him with emotional scars that would take years to overcome.

His first hit film that was not directed by his father was Poove Unakaage which saw him meet Sankgeetha for the first time. One of the characteristics that attracted Sankgeetha was his easy going nature, humility and friendliness.

These characteristics began to fade soon after marriage – and it was not his marriage that caused the change. It appeared that Vijay’s pent up frustration and anger was being redirected by anyone in his vicinity. He became moody and withdrawn and, with rare exceptions, would not socialise with the rest of the cast and crew of his films.

The situation worsened considerably after the release of Minsaara Kanna. Vijay and his father had been contemplating his political entry for some time and had planned to make an announcement immediately after the release of Minsaara Kanna. However, those plans went awry because of many reasons. 

Some footage of the film had been released prior to the film’s release and Vijay’s father had accused director K. Balachander of orchestrating this act of piracy. The accusation angered most of the film industry and there was a loud call to band Vijay and his father from the film industry entirely. It was Ajith Kumar’s intervention that saw the issue being amicably resolved, and the issue of K. Balachander laid to rest.

The second reason was the box-office failure of the film. The lyrics of songs like Oh Uncle and Theemukka were clear indications of his political aspirations, but he decided to pull back.

Unfortunately, his father then mentioned this in an interview, and this caused a very public spat between himself and his parents, the first of several to reach the eyes and ears of the media.

Coupled with this was the chequered success of Vijay’s films at the box-office, due largely to Vijay’s refusal to work with directors who he believed were part of the 1999 move to have him banned. Even his father’s attempt to regain the popularity streak by producing the 2006 film Aathi failed miserably.

The chequered success continued, and Vijay concentrated more on the films that failed than the many that enjoyed success.

The trolling and negative reviews that came from his 50th film – Sura, was the last straw for Vijay. The façade he kept for the media dropped and his detractors jumped at the opportunity with glee.

One of the reasons for him dropping his guard was the heightening of tensions between himself and Sankgeetha. The situation worsened considerably after the release of the 2017 film Bairava and by the time of the release of Varisu in 2023, it was clear to everyone that the marriage was in deep trouble.

It was also clear to everyone that when Vijay launched his political party that Sankgeetha was definitely not part of the plan.

Vijay’s entry onto the political scene has revealed a very disturbing change within him. The anger and frustration has now come out in full force and the Vijay one sees at political rallies is a caustic, hypercritical and venom-spitting man who has lost sight of the loving, carefree young man that made him the darling of the masses at one stage.

His casual (and greatly delayed) response to the Karur tragedy shocked most people, and his lack of involvement in the delayed release of his last film Jana Nayagan remains a much talked about issue.

The timing of the divorce petition seems to reflect a desire to have the maximum damaging effect on Vijay as a person as well as his yet-to-be-established political career.

Whether the rumours about his alleged affair with a popular actress is true or not, ought not to be the discussion now. What we are witnessing is a personal tragedy of unknown depths for all involved – Vijay, Sankgeetha, Jason Vijay, Dhivya Sasha, their parents and their loved ones. It is sad to see the press and general public choose sides in this intensely personal tragedy. The breakdown of a marriage is never something to be celebrated, or even rationalised.

This article was written not with the intention of dissecting the issue between Vijay and Sankgeetha – because that it nobody else’s business. Instead, it is an attempt to see what went wrong with Vijay with a view to others also being able to see that he is probably as much a victim of his own thoughts and feelings as those around him.