Early life
Vijay was born in Chennai to S. A. Chandrasekhar, a film producer and director, and Shoba Chandrasekhar, a playback singer. He had a sister named Vidhya Chandrasekhar who died at the age of two. Vijay went on to study visual communications at Loyola College, Chennai.
Career
1992–1996
During his childhood, Vijay performed in a number of minor roles with Vijayakanth directed by his father. He debuted as a lead role actor in the 1992 film Naalaya Theerpu, produced by his father and then co-starred with Vijayakanth in his second film Sendhoorapandi. He had roles in films like Rasigan, Deva, and Rajavin Parvaiyile where he co-starred with another leading actor Ajith Kumar, who played supporting roles. He then acted in the romantic comedy Vishnu and romantic tragedy Chandralekha later. In early 1995, he starred in Coimbatore Mappillai a romantic comedy film.
1996–2003
His next film was the Vikraman directed Poove Unakkaga which was his first commercial success and made him a recognizable star.[5] Vijay's tenth film Vasantha Vasal was followed by the action movies Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selva and the romantic film Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen. In 1997 Vijay acted in Love Today and Once More, where he co-starred with the Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan and actress Simran, and in the Mani Ratnam produced movie Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth. Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, directed by Fazil,earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 1998, Vijay worked in the movies Ninaithen Vandhai and Priyamudan and Nilaave Vaa. In 1999 Vijay acted in Thulladha Manamum Thullum with Simran, which earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film.[6] This was followed by Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinileand the K.S.Ravikumar directed Minsara Kanna.
From the start of the new millennium Vijay began to commit to entertaining and commercial ventures, which marked a change in trend. In 2000 he performed in Kannukkul Nilavu,Kushi, and the romantic movie Priyamanavale, Kushi and Priyamanavale. His 2001 romantic comedy film Friends was directed by Siddique and featured him in the leading role alongside Suriya. Vijay also worked in Badri, an action film remake of the Telugu film Thammudu, and the romantic movie Shahjahan. In 2002, he starred in the action filmThamizhan alongside Priyanka Chopra, making her acting debut before establishing herself as a leading Bollywood actress. The movie was a box office hit.[7][8] Later, he featured in the romantic film Youth and action film Bagavathi. Vijay began 2003 with the films Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai.
2003–2007
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.[9] Udhaya, which began filming in 2002 but as delayed, was finally released n 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.[10]
It was followed by Madhurey, directed by Ramana Madhesh. In 2005, he starred in the Perarasu directed action film Thirupaachi, followed by a guest appearance in Sukran, the romantic comedy Sachien co-starring Genelia directed by John Mahendran, and Savakis co-starring Asin, again directed by Perarasu. Vijay's next film, Aadhi, was produced by his father S. A. Chandrasekhar and directed by Ramana, released in 2006. In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, a remake of the 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.[11][12]
2007–2010
In late 2007, Vijay starred in the extrasensory perception thriller film Azhagiya Thamizh Magan, and for the first time in his career, he appeared in dual roles as both the antagonist and protagonist. The film was only a moderate success at the boxofice, despite the initial hype and expectations. In 2008, he starred in the action film Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction, and produced by Red Giant Movies. The year 2009 commenced with the action film Villu, in which Vijay teamed up with Prabhu Deva (from Pokkiri). His next film Vettaikaaran, directed by Babu Sivan and produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures became one of the highest grossing Tamil film of 2009. In 2010, he acted in his 50th film, Sura, also distributed by Sun Pictures. Sura released amidst huge fanfare but failed to meet expectations.
2011–present
In early 2011 he joined up with director Siddique again, for the romantic drama Kaavalan, a Tamil remake of the Malayalam filmBodyguard (also co-starring Asin). It received positive responses from both viewers and critics.[13] The movie was screened at theShanghai International Film Festival in China.[14] During Diwali the same year, his next film, the action film Velayudham directed by M. Raja and produced by Venu Ravichandran was released.[15] Velayudham became one of the top grossing films of 2011.[16]
His next release was Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots, where he played the role which was played by Aamir Khanin the original. Directed by S. Shankar, it was released during the Pongal weekend of 2012 and emerged a major financial success. Vijay's performance in the film was praised by critics, including by leading Indian actor Kamal Haasan.[17] Nanban went on to complete 100 days theatrical run.[18][19][20] He made a special appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore starring Akshay Kumar, directed byPrabhu Deva.[21]
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.[22] The film became the third Tamil film to enter the ₹1 billion (US$16 million) club after Sivaji (2007), and Enthiran (2010).[23] Eros International announced that Thuppakki made a domestic net collection of ₹1.8 billion (US$29 million).[24] His next film Thalaivaa, directed by A. L. Vijay, was released on 9 August 2013 worldwide to positive reviews from critics and audience[25] Jilla, co-starring Kajal Aggarwal and Mohanlal, and directed by R. T. Neason, was released on a Pongal weekend in 2014.[26][27][28]
He again worked with AR Murugadoss in the action thriller movie Kaththi, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and produced by Ayngaran International, which was released on Diwali 2014.[29] It was the highest grossing Tamil film of 2014.[30]
He is currently working on a big budget fantasy film Puli which is produced by T. Shibu of Thameens Films under the banner SKT Studios[31] and directed by Chimbudevan co-starring Shruti Haasan and Hansika Motwani[32] along with actress Sridevi[33][34]
Personal life
Family
Vijay married Sangeetha Sornalingam on 25 August 1999.[35] They have two children, a son Sanjay born in 2000 in London,[36] and a daughter Divya born in 2005 in Chennai.
His cousin Vikranth is an actor. His uncle S. N. Surendar is a playback singer and dubbing artist.
Brand endorsement
In 2002, Vijay appeared as Coca Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu.[37][38] He acted in a variety of South Indian Coca Cola advertisements, along with Katrina Kaif. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings, along with actress Nayanthara.[39] In January 2009, Vijay was approached as the brand ambassador for Coca Cola products.[40] As of August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[41]The Jos Alukkas advertisement featuring Vijay and his mother Shoba is an extremely famous one in Tamil Nadu. Vijay signed for Tata Docomo[42]
Philanthropy
Vijay started a social welfare organisation Vijay Makkal Iyakkam which was officially launched at Pudukottai on 26 July 2009. It is responsible for much of his philanthropic work. After Cyclone Thane his Makkal Mandram administrators arranged for a relief camp at Kammiyampettai, Cuddalore where the star provided rice to the affected people. Cuddalore was the worst affected area in floods and Vijay reached out to help these people out by rendering some assistance. The area in which the camp happened soon wore a festive look with thousands of people gathering to catch a glimpse of their favorite star.[43] Vijay has appeared along with Suriya, R. Madhavan and Jyothika in a short commercial video about child poverty, labour and lack of education, titled Herova? Zerova? produced by Surya in an effort to eliminate children who drop out of school at an early age, made in association with Vishnuvardhan Induri the founder of CCL and the Ministry of Education of Tamil Nadu[44]. The Ilayathalapathy Vijay Educational Awards 2012 was conducted at JS Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai on 8 July 2012 by his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam to honour the students topped in 2012 SSLC and 12th board exams and the awards were distributed by Vijay himself. On his every birthday, Vijay presents golden rings to the new born babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital.[45]
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