2 hours agoAuthor: Virendra Mishra
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The release of Vijay’s films is considered like a festival in Tamil Nadu. Fans celebrate with big cutouts, offering milk and bursting crackers.
The story of South Superstar Thalapathy Vijay has been one of struggle, criticism, family disputes and reaching politics along with the success of films. At the beginning of his career, his looks, voice and acting were made fun of. After consecutive flop films, he started thinking of quitting acting.
Gradually he emerged from the lover boy image and established himself as a family star and then a big mass superstar of Tamil cinema. The political and social messages in films like Ghilli, Thuppakki and Sarkar made him distinct.
During this time, father S.A. The dispute with Chandrashekhar regarding political organization was also discussed. Later Vijay launched Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and has now become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
In today’s success story, let us know things related to Thalapathy Vijay’s career and personal life.
Thalapathy Vijay’s childhood and family background
The full name of Thalapathy Vijay, who is counted among the big stars of South Cinema, is Joseph Vijay Chandrashekhar. He was born on 22 June 1974 in Chennai. He comes from a family which has deep connections with the film industry.
His father S.A. Chandrasekhar has been a well-known director of Tamil films, while mother Shobha Chandrasekhar has been a singer, writer and producer. Due to the filmy atmosphere at home, Vijay remained close to the world of camera and cinema since childhood.
Although his childhood was not completely full of glamour. Younger sister Vidya died at an early age. According to several interviews and Tamil media reports, Vijay had become quite quiet and introverted after this incident. Fans believe that she used the name Vidya in many personal projects in memory of her sister.
Left studies midway, chose acting
Vijay did his early schooling from Fatima Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Ballok Matriculation School, Chennai. After this he took admission in Visual Communication course at Loyola College.
But at the same time his busyness in films started increasing. He felt that his entire focus was going on acting. For this reason he left his college studies midway.
Vijay does not have any major professional degree, but in later years many institutions gave him honorary awards. At that time, hardly anyone would have thought that this boy, who left his studies incomplete, would later become a superstar of millions of people.
Vijay’s picture with parents.
Debut with father’s film, but the beginning was difficult
Vijay worked as a child artist in films like Vetri, Kutumbam, Naan Sigappu Manithan, Vasanth Ragam, Sattham Oru Vilayattu and Idhu Engal Neeti. Most of these films were directed by his father S.A. Chandrashekhar did it. After this, Vijay started his career as a lead actor in 1992 with the film ‘Nalaiya Theerpu’.
Looks and voice were made fun of
Although the beginning was very difficult for him. With his early films being flops, Vijay had to face criticism for his looks, voice and acting. It was written in many magazines of that era that he was not hero material.
According to Times of India reports, Vijay later said that people used to make fun of his looks and voice.
Had even made up my mind to quit acting. Vijay’s father S.A. Chandrashekhar had admitted in the interview that many people in the industry had raised questions on the decision to launch him. Vijay became so upset with the constant criticism that he decided to quit acting. But his family, especially his father, gave him courage and advised him to continue working hard.
Sister’s death changed my nature
The death of sister Vidya is considered to be the biggest emotional shock in Vijay’s life. According to people close to the family, earlier Vijay was quite mischievous, but after the death of his sister he became serious.
During this period, his inclination towards films and books increased. Many film critics believe that the emotional depth seen in his films was related to his personal struggles.
Despite initial rejection and criticism in the industry, Vijay did not break down. He worked continuously on dance, screen presence, body language and dialogue delivery. This hard work later became his identity.
In Vijay’s films, messages related to the general public, system and social issues are often seen.
‘Lover Boy’ turned family star
‘Poove Unakkaga’, released in 1996, proved to be the first major turning point in Vijay’s career. This was the first big blockbuster film of his career. This romantic-drama film made Vijay a big star in Tamil cinema and established his image as a romantic hero.
He became popular among the family audience and youth. After this he did many romantic and family films. Gradually his image started developing as a lover boy star.
At that time, Vijay’s biggest strength was considered to be his simplicity and clean image. Like other stars, he did not remain involved in much controversies and had limited interactions with the media. In an old interview of Behindwoods, Vijay had said – ‘I am not a person who speaks much.’
This reserved personality later became an important part of his public image.
Ghilli and Thuppakki created ‘Mass Superstar’
2003’s Thirumalai and 2004’s blockbuster Ghilli completely changed Vijay’s image. Now he is no longer just a romantic hero, but has become a mass action star. His entry, dance steps and punchy dialogues started becoming popular among the youth.
After this, films like Thuppakki, Mersal, Master and Leo took his stardom to new heights. The special thing was that Vijay did not respond to the criticism with controversies. He changed people’s thinking through his work.
Vijay has acted in 68 films so far. His 69th film is ‘Jana Nayakan’. After this film he retired from acting. The film was scheduled to release on January 9, 2026, but was postponed due to censor and other controversies.
Some reports have mentioned Vijay’s birthday, June 22, 2026, as the possible release date, but the official final date has not been announced. According to Forbes report, he is the second most expensive paid actor of India. He charges Rs 130-275 crore for a film.
Political messages and increasing popularity in films
Issues related to system, corruption and politics appeared in many of Vijay’s films. Comments on GST and medical system were discussed in Mersal, while the focus was on voting and political corruption in the government.
According to BBC News reports, the dialogues and scenes of these films became a part of political debate. This strengthened Vijay’s image as a politically aware star.
During this time, his fan network ‘Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ started becoming increasingly active in social activities. Programs like blood donation camp, distribution of food to the poor and education support made Vijay not just an actor but a social face.
Vijay’s character in films is often a person who stands against injustice, politics or big people.
Dispute with father created a stir
In 2020, Vijay and his father S.A. Chandrashekhar’s relationship came into limelight due to public controversy. Actually, S.A. Chandrashekhar had registered a political organization with the name ‘All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’. After this Vijay issued a statement saying that he has no connection with that organization.
According to India Today reports, Vijay did not want his political identity to be decided by someone else’s decision. After this incident, news of tension in the relationship between father and son started coming.
However later S.A. Chandrashekhar admitted that there were ups and downs in the relationship, but with time there was a reconciliation between the two. Both were seen together again in 2023.
Mother Shobha Chandrashekhar became the biggest support
Amidst these family tensions, Vijay’s mother Shobha Chandrashekhar always stood by him. According to India Today report, he played an important role in bringing about reconciliation between father and son.
According to media reports, Vijay is very close to his mother. The news of building Sai Baba temple for him in Chennai was quite popular.
Entry into politics: TVK launched
In February 2024, Vijay launched his political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam i.e. TVK. According to the report of The Hindu, while launching the party, Vijay had said that politics for him is people-centric service. He said that his aim would be to work against corruption, caste based politics and divisive politics.
According to political analysts, Vijay was preparing his political ground for a long time. Their fan network was already active at the grassroots level and the victory of the candidates they supported in the 2021 local body elections showed its strength.
Said- Do not sell votes for money
A statement by Vijay at a program to honor students and board toppers in 2023 had gone viral.
According to reports in The Hindu, he told the youth – ‘Don’t sell your vote for money.’ This statement was considered a big indication of his political entry. Vijay used to talk to the youth about first time voters and clean politics. Analysts believe that he wanted to present himself not just as a star but as a ‘youth-centric leader’.
How did Vijay become CM?
After Vijay’s entry into politics, TVK rapidly increased its support base. Youth, first time voters and their strong fan network gave the party benefits at the grassroots level. During the election campaign, Vijay made corruption, education, unemployment and clean politics the main issues.
TVK got great success in the elections and the party reached power in Tamil Nadu. After this, Vijay was unanimously elected leader in the TVK legislature party meeting. Then he took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
After becoming the Chief Minister, Vijay said that the aim of his politics is to work for the people and he will give priority to the issues of youth and common people.
Film stars have a long history in Tamil Nadu politics. M.G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalitha and N. Stars like T. Rama Rao have reached power.
Discussions of marriage, family and divorce
Vijay married Sangeetha Soranalingam on 25 August 1999. According to reports, Sangeeta belonged to a UK-based Sri Lankan Tamil family and was earlier a big fan of Vijay.
They both have two children – Jason Sanjay (son) and Divya Shasha (daughter). His son Jason Sanjay is interested in filmmaking and direction.
For a long time, Vijay’s image was that of a family man star, but in 2026, news of divorce regarding their relationship gained momentum. Many media reports claimed that Sangeeta has filed a divorce petition in the family court.
In some reports, things like extramarital affair and living apart for a long time came to light. However, these claims were not officially confirmed and there was limited public response from Vijay.
There was a debate about this issue on social media and Reddit. Some people linked it to his political image, while many fans supported him.
Apart from the news of divorce from his wife, Vijay’s name is also associated with some other controversies.
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Read last week’s success story…
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