"DIE HARD VIJAY FANS"

Name: Vijay

Full Name: Joseph Vijay

Family: S.A. Chandrasekharan – Father, Shobha Chandrasekharan – Mother, Sangeetha – wife, Sanjay – Son

Date of birth: June 22nd , 1974

First Film: Naalaiya Theerppu in Tamil

Awards: Kalaimamani award in 1998, Tamil nadu state Best Hero award in 1997 for Kaadhalukku Mariyadhai.

Vijay (born Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on June 22, 1974) is a Indian film actor, who has been a performer in Tamil cinema, as well as a playback singer and a spokesperson for companies in India.

Vijay began his career appearing in several of his father’s directorial ventures in the early 1990s. He made his film debut in Naalaya Theerpu (1992). Since then, he acted in several films of action and romance genres. During his years in the Chennai film industry, he has been nominated for one Filmfare Award, while winning two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

Vijay has starred in several romance and action films, along with the commercially successful films Poove Unakkaga (1996), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Kushi (2000), Ghilli (2004) and Pokkiri (2007). He is the current ambassador for the IPL cricket team Chennai Super Kings and has also served several commercial companies as a brand ambassador.

Vijay Chandrasekhar is an Indian film actor. Vijay began his career doing minor roles as a child artist in the Tamil cinema industry, while also attending a theatre for stage plays, to follow his dream to act. After five years of minor and unnoticed roles in Tamil language films, he gained Indian cinema’s attention in 1996 by playing the role of Raja in Poove Unakkaga.

His first blockbuster and since then Vijai has acted in over forty Indian films, with his main intention being Tamil language ventures, earning him the prestigious title of Ilayathalapathy in 1996. The title name is now mentioned in the credits of all his projects. Vijay is currently the third most popular Indian actor of Tamil origin in the world after, senior actors, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

He comes from a family which has strong experience in the film industry. S. A. Chandrasekar, his father, is a popular director and mother Shobha is an accomplished playback singer. He performs predominantly in leading roles in high-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers. His most popular films include Poove Unakkaga in 1996, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai in 1997, Ghilli in 2004, and Pokkiri in 2007.

Vijay made his debut as a child artiste in the film, Vetri. His first film, as hero, was Naalaya Theerpu. Vijay hit films like Poove Unakkaga, Love Today, Nerrukku Ner, Once More, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Ninaithen Vandhai, Endrendrum Kadhal and Thulladha Manamum Thullum have, one after the other, helped him to establish himself as the next Tamil Super Star.

Vijay has also appeared in several commercials like Coca-Cola & Sunfeast Milky Magic Biscuit. Vijya is the youngest actor to have won the MGR award from the Tamil Nadu Government and Kalaimamani award. Vijya latest hits include Khushi, Priyamanavale, Madhurey, Ghilli and Vijyas last venture Pokkiri, directed by Prabhu Deva, is declared a blockbuster in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Biography

The Background

Vijay Was Born On The 22nd Of June 1974 To The Celebrity Couple S.A.Chandrasekar And Shobha. He Was Christened As Joseph Vijay. Vijay Did His Schooling In Balalok Matriculation In Virugambakkam. He Dropped Out Of Loyola College While Doing Visual Communication, For The Sake Of Entering Films

Entry into Films

Vijay’s First Film Was Vetri Where He Appeared As A Child Artist. As A Hero He Entered The Industry Through The Film “Naalya Theerpu” Directed By His Father Sac. All His Early Films Were Directed By His Father and Made Him Popular In B and C Centers. Vikraman’s Poove Unakaagha Was The Major Break In His Career.

The Challenges

It Is Often Claimed By The Anti-Vijay Gang That He Would Not Have Any Place In This Industry If Not His Father Had Launched Him. But Almost All Top Heroes Of Today Had A Chance To Work With Great Directors and banners In Their Initial Stages. It All Depends On How They Used The Chance. Ofcourse Vijay Had An Easy Launch Pad Unlike Others, But The Challenges He Had To Face Were Not Easier.

While Others Had To Improve Upon Only Acting Skills, Vijay Needed A Complete Makeover Right From Looks To Everything About Him. It Took Years For Him To Be Accepted By People As A Hero. There Were All Sorts Of Nasty Comments Thrown Upon His Unheroic Looks. But Today… he has established himself as worthy as the title “Azhagiya Thamizh Magan” both by looks and character, all by his years of hardwork.

Changes in Appearance

Vijay Till Date Has Not Undergone Any Great changes For His Movies like Changing Getups and Straining Himself too much. On The Other Hand He Has Tried Different Styles – Wearing Specs (As in Ninaithen Vandhai), Short Hair Cut (As In Vaseegara), Hair Coloring (Aadhi) Etc. He Trimmed His Moustache In Thirumalai And Has Been Maintaining This Style Till Date. These Kind changes Also sometimes Helped Him in Pairing with Heroines Who Looked Elder to Him.

The Singer Role

Vijay Has Sung Many Songs In His Own Voice For His Films. Most Of Those Songs Have Been Big Hits Among His Fans. Few Instances Are Vaadi Vaadi(Sachien), Nilave Nilave(Nilaave Vaa), Oh Baby(Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai), Ennoda Laila(Badri), Mouriya(Priyamudan) Etc. He Rendered A Duet With His Co-Star Priyanka Chopra For The Movie Tamizhan. Apart From This, He Rendered Songs for Surya in the Movie Periyanna directed by SAC.

The Change of Phases

After Friends, A Super Hit Film, Vijay Was On A Lean Phase And All His Films That Followed Were Either Flops Or Average Runs. The Diwali Of 2003 Was A Real Festival For Vijay Fans As Vijay Was Back With A Bang With Thirumalai. With A New Getup And An Action Hero Image, Soon Vijay Raised His Status Towards Superstardom And The Series Of Hits That Followed Assured That. Thirumalai Is Indeed A Landmark Movie In Vijay’s Career.

Vijay Did A Chain Of Romantic Movies After Which He Shifted To The Action Genre With Thirumalai And Ghilli. And The Films That Followed Established As An Action Hero. But In The Middle He Did A Soft Movie “Sachien” Sans Punch Dialogues, Blood And Gore. Though The Movie Didn’t Get The Kind Of Response His Other Action Films Had, It Is A Movie That Die Hard Vijay Fans Will Cherish For A Long Time.

Vijay Has Done A Lot of Remake Films in His Career Most of Which Are From Telugu. Many Were Successful But some like Aadhi Did Not Do Well. Inspite of This, Vijay went ahead with the Remake of Telugu Movie Pokiri and reaped huge success.

The Man of Miracles

Miracles Do Happen Everywhere. For Vijay It Happened With Madurey. After Ghilli No One Expected Such A Crappy Thing From Vijay. And No One Expected That It Will Go On To Complete 100 Days. Vijay’s Ghilli Hangover And Vidhyasagar’s Excellent Music With Nicely Picturised Songs Created The Miracle.

Vijay’s another surprise Big Hit Was Sivakasi. This Diwali Release Of 2005 Was A Real Cracker Earning Good Profits For Producer A.M.Rathnam And Distributors. Though Rain Dampened The Collections To Some Extent, The Film Went On To Complete 100 Days. It Was A Movie With All Superstar Ingredients But Sans Any Great Logic Or Strong Story Line (As If Each And Every Tamil Film Has These!!!) Perarasu Gave His Second Hit encashing Upon Vijay’s Popularity.

Awards and Recognitions

Vijay Has Not Won Many Awards In His Career And He Has No Big Regrets About It. He Has Always Said People’s Love And Recognition Is More Than Any Award For Him. But Of course, He Was Awarded Tamilnadu Government’s State Award for Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai and Kalaimamani Award. And Many Other Small Awards Like Dinakaran Award For Ghilli. He was also felicitated at Hyderabad Thamizh Sangham Where He Was Given the Title ‘Prince of Tamil Cinema’. Vijay TV gave him the “Next Superstar” award and “Best entertainer of the year” award as part of their Vijay awards. For Pokkiri, he was given an award by Mathrubhoomi, a Malayalam magazine, first time for a Tamil actor.

Unworthy Rivalries

It Is Often Quoted By Media and Fans That Ajith Is the Professional Rival for Vijay. There Was A Time When They Were Attacking Each Other Through Dialogues And Songs And More Than Them, Their Fans Fought Through Posters And Cutouts. Vijay Tried to Put an End to This Obvious Rivalry by Congratulating with Ajith In The pooja Of His Film Thirupathi in a Surprise Visit. As Expected, This Was Again Translated By Ajith Fans On A Bad Note. Nowadays, Many sensible Vijay Fans Have Stopped Fighting Because They Understood That Vijay Is at a Much Higher Level to Be Compared with Ajith. Still Vijay And His Fans Are Being Maligned By Ajith Fans. God Knows The End Of This Never Ending Dispute!!!!

The Sweet Family

Vijay Married Sangeetha, His Fan and Daughter of a London Based SriLankan Businessman on 25th August 1999. The Marriage Was Held With A Grand Wedding In Rani Meyammai Hall After Which The Couple Met The Fans In Nehru Indoor Stadium. The Couple Are Blessed With Two Kids, A Son Jason Sanjay And A Daughter Divya Saasha. Sangeetha Had Been the Best Friend for Vijay All These Years. She Is The One Behind Vijay’s Style Statement And Dressing Sense In Movies Like Sachien Widely Appreciated By His Fans. They Are Indeed An Ideal Couple In Tamil Film Industry.

The Fans Network

Vijay Is One Of The Few Actors Having A Big Fan Following Even Outside Tamilnadu. In Addition To Tens Of Thousands Of Fan Clubs In Tamilnadu, Vijay Has Many Fan Clubs In Karnataka Too Where He Is The Most Popular Tamil Actor Next Only To Superstar Rajinikanth. His Films Do Good Business In Kerala Too Where His Films Get A Response Equal To Those Of Superstars Like Mammooty And Mohanlal. Apart From These He Has Fans In Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Srilanka, UK And US.

Endorsements

Vijay Was The First Tamil Actor To Endorse Coca-Cola In Tamilnadu. He Was Signed Up By Coke For Few Years In Which He Featured In Coke Ads And Endorsed The Brand Through His Films Too. Those Ads, Choreographed By Raju Sundaram Had A Good Reach And Were Most Popular At Those Times. Apart From These He Also Promoted Sunfeast Brand Of Biscuits Through His Recent Movies. Recently he was signed as the brand ambassador of Cococola for a second time owing to his popularity all over Tamilnadu. He is also the star ambassador of IPL team Chennai Super Kings.

Ever Youth

Vijay Has Played A College Student In Many Movies In His Career. But Many Of His Fans Liked Him In Sachien Where In Every Inch He Represented Himself As A College Guy Quite An Unusual Thing At 31 Years Of Age. He Got A Lot Of Appreciations From Reviews Too. The Movie’s Stills And Wallpapers Were A Huge Hit Among His Fans And It Was A Delightful Experience Watching Him Onscreen. Special Credits For Jeeva’s Camerawork Too.

Best pairs onscreen

If Sangeetha Is The Real Life Best Pair On Screen, It Was Trisha Who Made His Best Pair Onscreen. The Pair Was Quite Good And Rocking In All Their 3 Movies Together- Ghilli, Thiruppachi And Aadhi. Though Their Latest Film Aadhi Was Not A Hit, Still Fans Find The Pair Good And Are Hoping To See Them Together In Future Movies Too. If Vijay-Simran Pair Looked A Matured One, This Pair Looked More Youthful, Colorful And It Was A Treat To Watch Them Onscreen. Not Only They Have Good Onscreen Chemistry, Both Are Good Friends Too, As Quoted By Trisha.

Vijay Paired With Asin In Sivakaasi For The First Time And The Film Was A Big Hit. Fans Liked The Pair Especially The Comedy Sequences Between The Two. After Being Assured the Heroine Role in Vijay’s Next Film after Aadhi She was Back with Vijay Again after about 7 Months, Since Sivakaasi Hit the Screens. Vijay and Asin were again Seen Together in Pokiri Directed by Prabhudeva and the film was a blockbuster.

Musical hits

Most Of Vijay’s Films Have Good Music And Albums Will Be A Hit, Atleast After The Release Of The Film (Most Songs Will Appeal To Songs After Viewing It Onscreen Rather Than By Listening). The Surprise Factor Is That, He Never Had The Privilege Of Dancing To Tunes Of Big Music Directors Often. Rahman And Yuvan, Big Shots Today Have Done Only One/Two Films With Vijay And Music Was Not A Big Hit In Both Films. Harris Has Never Done A Vijay Film Till Now. Vijay’s Most Successful Music Directors In His Career Till Date Are Vidhyasagar And Deva.

The ‘Ghilli’ Milestone

Vijay’s First Break In His Career Came With Poove Unakaagha Which Made Him A Known Face Among All Kinds Of Audience. The Second Major Milestone Was Ghilli. A Remake Of Telugu Movie ‘Okkadu’ Made By Dharani This Film Grossed Amassive Collections In Box Office And Had Producer A.M.Rathnam Grinning From Ear To Ear, Especially When He Was Down After A Couple Of Losses. The Film Ran For 260 Days And Is The Biggest Hit Till Date In Vijay’s Carrer – His First Step Towards Superstardom. And For The First Time The Great Pair Of Vijay And Trisha Came Together Onscreen For This Movie. Any Vijay Fan Will Have Ghilli In His/Her List Of Favorite Vijay Movies And Would Have Surely Watched The Film More Than Once.

The Ruler of Box-office

Vijay Who Has Always Been Playing Safe When Selecting Movies Has a Very Strong Reason for Doing So. ‘I Will Have To Think About The Producer, Distributor, Exhibitor, And All The Crew Members Of The Movie I Am Involved In. I Have To Consider About All The People Involved When Experimenting’. The Actor’s Movies Are Easily Sold For 4 To 4.5 Crores In Chennai-Chengalpet Area. This Is Next Only To Superstar’s Movies.

Vijay Has Always Been The Blue-Eyed Boy For Producers And Distributors. He Was Given Exemption from Ceiling by Distributors On Par With Rajini and Kamal. Most Of His Films Have Given Good Returns For The Distributors And Huge Profits For Producers. Though few films in recent past Broke This Track Record, He Is Expected To Be Back With A Bang.

Once An Unnamed Producer Approached Vijay And Offered 8 Crores For A Project With Him. Vijay Was Stunned And Kindly Refused The Offer Made To Him. He Felt, Taking Up The Movie For Eight Crores Is Again Putting A Lot Of Risk And Pressure On The Various People Involved In the Film Making.

Knack for Comedy

Vijay Is One Of The Few Heroes Who Has A Very Good Timing For Comedy. His Combination With Comedy Actors Like Dhaamu, Vivek And Vadivelu Has Rocked In Many Movies And Fans Really Love His Comedy Acts. Vaseegara Is One Such Movie Where Vijay Did Almost Full Length Comedy. The Song “Nenjam Orumarai” From The Movie Is A Popular Number Where Vijay And Sneha Act Like Mgr And Saroja Devi In Old Songs. The Film Was A Remake Of The Telugu Movie ‘Nuvvu Naaku Nachaav’ But Unfortunately Didn’t Taste The Success That Telugu Original Did.

The Kids’ Hero

Vijay Is An Actor Who Is Very Popular Among Kids And Many School Children Love Him. He Makes Sure There Are Certain Elements In His Movie Specially Dedicated To His Little Fans. It Was Evident In Movies Like Sachien And Aadhi. There Was A Song Sequence In Aadhi Shot With Vijay And Trisha And Lots Of Kids. When You Watch A Vijay Movie In Theatre, You Can Always Spot A Lots Of Small Kid Fans.

Biggest Regret

Vijay’s Biggest Sorrow In His Life Is The Loss Of His Sister. He Was Very Fond Of His Sister Vidhya Who Unfortunately Passed Away At A Very Young Age. This Made Vijay An Introvert And Is The Main Reason For His Reserved Nature. Of Course, He Has Changed A Lot These Days And Has Come Out In Public Functions Speaking Out His Mind. Thanks To His Kids And Wife Sangeetha For Making Him Get Out Of His Grief.

An Unforgettable Moment

One Memorable Moment In Vijay’s Life Is The Day When Ghilli 200 Days Function Was Held. Rajinikanth Who Was The Main Guest Of The Function Was An Inspiration For Vijay To Act In Movies And He Follows His Style In Many Movies. Rajini Presented The Ghilli Trophy To Vijay And Speaking On The Occasion He Said “I Remember The Days Of Myself And Kamal, When I See Vijay And Vikram Now”. The Statement That the Media Interpreted As ‘Superstar Conferring the Title of Next Superstar On Vijay’.

However, Vijay, Who Himself Is A Big Fan Of Rajinikanth, Declares Even Today, That Rajini Is The Only Superstar. He Says That He Is Happy To Be Ilayathalapathy… Ofcourse, It Means Young Thalapathy And Thalapathy Is None Other Than Rajinikanth.

Friends

Vijay Has A Few Close Friends Right From College Days Amongst Whom Is Sanjeev, Who Acted With Him In Movies Like Nilaave Vaa, Badri And Pudhiya Geethai. In Tamil Film Industry, Vijay’s Close Friend Is Actor Vikram And Both Were Self-Declared Fans Of Each Other. They Also Have A Plan Of Acting Together In A Movie In Future. In An Industry Of Rivalries And Competition, It Is A Rarity To Find Friendships Like This…..

Favorite Movies

This Is From One Of Vijay’s Interviews To A Magazine. Ten Movies Which Vijay Likes The Most and Likes to Watch Often:

* Road to Perdition

* Life Is Beautiful

* Cellular

* Nayagan

* Salaam Namasthe

* Annamalai

* Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai

* Enga Veetu Pillai

* Pithaamagan

* Passion of Christ