Vijay (born Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on June 22, 1974) is an Indian
film actor and
playback singer who appears in the
Tamil films. Nicknamed
Ilayathalapathi (young general) by his fans, he has appeared in more than 50 Tamil films and earned accolades, including Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Vijay has a significant following in Kerala also and has been described as one of the successful stars of Tamil cinema.
The son of film director and producer
S. A. Chandrasekhar and playback singer
Shoba Chandrasekhar, he started his career as a child actor in the film
Vetri (1984) and later made his debut as a lead actor in the 1992 film
Naalaya Theerpu, both of which were directed by his father. After a series of failures, the family drama
Poove Unakkaga (1996) marked as his turning point in his career and then went on to appear in commercially successful films like
Pokkiri (2007),
Thuppakki (2012) and
Kaththi (2014).
Career
1996–2003
2003–07
In late 2003, Vijay transformed from a romantic hero to an action hero with 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.
Thirumalai been considered a turning point in Vijay's career.
[7] Udhaya, which began filming in 2002 but as delayed, was finally released in early 2004.
Ghilli, a remake of the Telugu film
Okkadu was released next in 2004, and completed 200 days in theatres in
Tamil Nadu. Directed by
S. Dharani and produced by
A. M. Rathnam, it co-starred
Trisha and
Prakash Raj.
[8] In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film
Pokkiri, a remake of another Telugu
film of the same name. Directed by
Prabhu Deva, it became the third highest grossing Tamil film of 2007. Vijay's character in the film, a reprisal of
Mahesh Babu's role in the original, was well received by critics.
[9][10]
2011–present
His next film, the action thriller
Thuppakki, directed by
A. R. Murugadoss and produced by
S. Dhanu, was released at Diwali 2012 to mostly positive reviews.
[19] The film became the third Tamil film to enter the
₹1 billion (US$15 million) club after
Sivaji (2007),
Enthiran(2010).
[20] His next film
Thalaivaa, directed by
A. L. Vijay, was released on 9 August 2013 worldwide to positive reviews from critics and audience.
[21] His next film,
Jilla, co-starring
Kajal Aggarwal and
Mohanlal, and directed by
R. T. Neason, was released on a
Pongalweekend in 2014 to positive reviews from critics and audience and end up as box office hit due to popularity of both stars
[22][23][24]
In 2015, he appeared in historical fantasy
Puli, which received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.
[27][28] He then appeared in
Theri (2016) which did well at box-office.
[29] He is currently acting in tentatively titled project
Vijay 60.
In the media
In 2012 and 2013 he also held 28th and 49th place, respectively, on the Indian edition of Forbes' "Celebrity 100" lists, based on the income and popularity of Indian celebrities.
[30][31]
Brand endorsement
In 2002, Vijay appeared as
Coca-Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu.
[32][33] He acted in a variety of South Indian Coca Cola advertisements, along with
Katrina Kaif. He has been the ambassador for
Sunfeast since 2005. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the
Indian Premier League cricket team
Chennai Super Kings, along with actress
Nayanthara.> In January 2009, Vijay was approached as the brand ambassador for Coca Cola products.
[34] As of August 2010, Vijay was signed by
Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
[35] The Jos Alukkas advertisement featuring Vijay and his mother Shoba is an extremely famous one in Tamil Nadu. Vijay signed for
Tata Docomo[36]
Personal life
Vijay is a
Roman Catholic by birth.
[37] He had a sister Vidhya, who died at the age of two years.
[38] His father
S. A. Chandrasekhar is a popular film director and mother Shobha is a popular playback singer and carnatic vocalist. Vijay married a
Sri Lankan Tamil, Sangeetha Sornalingam on 25 August 1999.
[39] They have two children, a son Sanjay born in 2000 in London,
[40] and a daughter Divya born in 2005 in Chennai. Jason Sanjay made a cameo appearance with his father in
Vettaikaaran (2009) and Divya portrayed a small role as her father's daughter in
Theri (2016).
[41][42] Vijay is the nephew of playback singer and voice actor
S. N. Surendar.
[43] His cousin
Vikranthis also an actor.
[44]
Filmography
