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Vijay (born Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on 22 June 1974) is an Indian actor, playback singer, brand ambassador and producer, who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry. Son of film director and producer S. A. Chandrasekhar, Vijay made his debut as a lead actor in the 1992 film Naalaya Theerpu, and has since then starred in numerous commercially successful and acclaimed films in various genres such as Poove Unakkaga (1996), Love Today (1997), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Priyamudan (1998), Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999), Kushi (2000), Priyamaanavale (2000), Ghilli (2004), Pokkiri (2007), Kaavalan (2011), Velayudham (2011), Nanban (2012) and Thuppakki (2012). To date, he has acted in 54 films as a lead actor.
Vijay has been widely referred to as Ilayathalapathy ("Young Commander") since the early period of his career.[3] He has been awarded two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, nominated for one Filmfare Award and conferred honorary doctorate by MGR University for his extensive philanthropic works in 2007. He launched the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a social welfare organisation in 2009. He is also involved in politics, aligning with the currently ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly election.[4]
As a brand ambassador he promotes various enterprises including Tata DoCoMo and Jos Alukkas, and is the former ambassador of Coca-Cola in India and Chennai Super Kings.
Early life
Vijay was born to S. A. Chandrasekhar, noted film producer and director and Shobha Chandrasekhar, a Carnatic singer on 22 June 1974[6] in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He attended Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Virugambakkam, Chennai.[7] and completed his post-secondary studies at Loyola College in Chennai and entered film industry in 1992 at the age of 18. His parents initially wanted him to become doctor but Vijay was interested in films.
Early career (1992'96)
During his childhood, Vijay performed in uncredited roles in films produced by his father. At the age of 18, Vijay debuted as a lead actor in the 1992 film Naalaya Theerpu, produced by his father. In his next film Sendhoorapandi, he co-starred with Vijayakanth. His following films Rasigan and Deva were of modest budgets. In his fifth film Rajavin Parvaiyile in 1993, he co-starred with another currently leading actor Ajith Kumar, who played supporting role in that film. He further went on to act in the romantic comedy Vishnu and romantic tragedy Chandralekha during the mid 1990s. In early 1996, he starred in Coimbatore Mappillai a romantic comedy film.
Breakthrough (1996'03)
His next flim was the Vikraman-directed Poove Unakkaga which was his first commercial success and made Vijay a recognizable star. Vijay's tenth film Vasantha Vasal was followed by the action flicks Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selva and the romantic film Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen. In 1997 Vijay acted in the commercially successful movies Love Today,Once More, where he co-starred with the legendary Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan and leading actress Simran who made her debut,the Mani Ratnam-produced Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth, where he co-starred with another currently leading actor Suriya who made his debut in that film and the romantic drama Kadhalukku Mariyadhai,co-starring Shalini Ajith Kumar which was directed by Fazil and earned him a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 1998, Vijay worked in romantic films Ninaithen Vandhai, Priyamudan which was his first negative role, and Nilaave Vaa.In 1999 Vijay acted in the successful Thulladha Manamum Thullum again with Simran.This was followed by Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinile and the K.S.Ravikumar directed Minsara Kanna. At the start of the new millennium he did Kannukkul Nilavu with Fazil. By this time, Vijay decided to commit to entertaining and commercial ventures, which marked a change in his trend. His next venture Kushi, a romantic comedy co-starring Jyothika was directed by S. J. Suryah and became a box office hit. At the end of the year, he acted in a romantic drama, Priyamanavale, which was also a box office hit. His 2001 romantic comedy film Friends was directed by Siddique and featured him in the leading role alongside Suriya again. Badri an action'drama film which was the remake of the Tollywood film Thammudu and Shahjahan, a romantic drama, followed, both of which were moderately successful at the box office. In 2002, he starred in Thamizhan alongside Priyanka Chopra who made her acting debut in that film before her establishment as the leading Bollywood actress. The romantic drama Youth and action drama Bagavathi there by rounded off the year with 3 failures. Vijay began 2003 with the films Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai, both failures at the box office.
Commercial stardom (2003'07)
In late 2003, Vijay transformed from a romantic hero to an action hero, with the action-romance flick, Thirumalai directed by debutant Ramana and produced by K.Balachander's Kavithalaya Productions, which featured him in a new look and was a box office hit. Thirumalai was a turning point in Vijay's career. His new commercial mass acting style and punch dialogue delivery coupled with his comic timing endeared him to all types of audiences and he soon achieved a "Numero uno" status in Kollywood. Udhaya, a film which began filming in 2002 but became delayed, finally released at the start of 2004. Ghilli,a remake of the Tollywood film Okkadu released next in 2004, and became Vijay's biggest blockbuster at the time completing 200 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu. Directed by S. Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam, it co-starred Trisha and Prakash Raj. It was followed by Madhurey, an average hit. In 2005, he starred in the Perarasu-directed action film Thirupaachi which became a super hit,followed by a guest appearance in Sukran,the romantic comedy Sachien co-starring Genelia which became a decent hit, and the successful commercial film Sivakasi co-starring Asin, which was directed again by Perarasu. His next film Aadhi was produced by his father S.A.Chandrashekar and directed by Ramana again released in 2006, and was not well received despite its huge expectations.In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, the remake of the Tollywood film of the same name. Directed by Prabhu Deva, it became a box office blockbuster and the 2nd highest grossing Tamil film of 2007. Vijay's character in the film, a reprisal of Mahesh Babu's role in the original, was well praised by critics.
Career slump (2007'10)
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, and was a box office failure, despite the initial hype and expectations. In 2008, he starred in the action film Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction, which also failed at the box office. The year 2009 started off with the action masala film Villu, which was directed by Prabhu Deva who was keen on working with him again after Pokkiri. The film featured Vijay in dual roles for the second time in his career and again failed to meet the expectations at the box office. Vijay's next film Vettaikaaran which was directed by Babu Sivan, produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures was a hit,his first since Pokkiri. In 2010, he acted in his 50th film, Sura also distributed by Sun Pictures. Sura released admist huge fanfare and expectations, but was a box office disaster. Vijay was forced to give a compensation of INR6 crore (US$1.09 million) to the theatre owners who had suffered losses due to the screening of his recent films.[9] Most of his films during this period did not do well at the box office and Vijay's status as a leading star was questioned by critics. In late 2010 Vijay even fell out with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was virtually controlling the film industry at the time, following which he aligned with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and featured in its success in the 2011 assembly election.
Resurgence (2011'present)
In the start of 2011 he associated with director Siddique again, for the romantic drama Kaavalan, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard also co-starring Asin. It received a positive response from both viewers and critics and was deemed to be a box office hit, in spite of the ruling DMK stalling its release in many theatres which forced Vijay to shell out his salary and spend an extra INR4 crore (US$728,000) for the release of the film. During Diwali the same year, his next film, the action film Velayudham directed by M. Raja and produced by Venu Ravichandran released and was a box office blockbuster. Velayudham became one of the top grossing films of 2011. His next release was Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, where he essayed the role played by Aamir Khan in the original. Directed by acclaimed director S. Shankar, it released during the Pongal weekend of 2012 and was a box office blockbuster. Vijay's performance in the film was praised by critics, including leading Indian actor Kamal Haasan. Nanban went on to complete its 100th day theatrical run. Nanban is the biggest hit for Vijay till date.
He made a friendly appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore starring Akshay Kumar, directed by Prabhu Deva.The action thriller film Thuppakki, directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by S. Dhanu, released on Diwali 2012 to highly positive reviews and was a commercial success across the globe. He has signed to star in yet to be titled film with director A.L Vijay, which he is going to start after Thuppakki
Playback singing
Vijay is also a playback singer, his first song was "Bombay City" from Rasigan. He sang songs in most of the films he acted. He also sang "Naa Dhum Adhikkura" for another actor Surya for the film Periyanna. He last sang "Vaadi Vaadi" in the film Sachein. After 7 years he has sung "Google Google" for Harris Jayaraj for his film Thuppakki.
Personal life Family
Vijay married Sangeetha Sornalingam of Sri Lankan Tamil descent on August 25, 1999. They have two children, a son Jason Sanjay born in 2000 in London, and a daughter Divya Saasha born in 2005 in Chennai.
Brand endorsement
In the year 2002, Vijay appeared as Coca Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu. He acted in a variety of South Indian Coca Cola advertisements, along with Katrina Kaif. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as the star 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. As of August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Tata Docomo has recently has signed Vijay, who will be seen for the first time for an Ad with Tata Docomo who are known for their innovative promotions all over.
Political and social activism
In 2010, he fell our with the ruling DMK owing to the delay of the release of his film Kaavalan in order to release the Kamal Hassan starrer Manmadhan Ambu, which was produced by DMK leader and the then Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin, its subsequent stalling of release in the theatres and various other issues related to the Tamil film industry, particular its monopoly by the ruling party. For the 2011 state assembly election, he declared his support for the AIADMK led alliance and the AIADMK welcomed him by providing 3 seats to his fan club, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam. He campaigned extensively for the AIADMK during the election campaign. He made a speech in Nagapattinam,[42][43] condemning the attack on the fishermen by the Sri Lankan Government, thus marking his political visionnage.
On 25th August 2011, Vijay went to the Ramlila Maidan to meet Anna Hazare and expressed support to the anti-corruption movement for the Lokpal. He lauded that the movement is getting public support without any political background and said that "the Gandhian's stir has triggered a nationwide debate on uprooting corruption".Philanthropy
Vijay converted his fan clubs into a people's movement called Vijay Makkal Iyakkam which was officially launched at Pudukottai on 26 July 2009. The star was at Kammiyampettai in Cuddalore to distribute five kilos of rice to the Thane cyclone affected people. Cuddalore was the worst affected area in the recent floods and Vijay decided to help these people out by rendering some assistance. His Makkal Mandram administrators arranged for a function at Cuddalore recently where the star distributed rice bags to the beneficiaries. The area in which the function happened wore a festive look with thousands of people gathering to catch a glimpse of their favorite star. Vijay appeared along with Surya, 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. 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. It can also be reminded that on his birthday every year Vijay gives golden rings to the new born babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital.
Vijay has been widely referred to as Ilayathalapathy ("Young Commander") since the early period of his career.[3] He has been awarded two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, nominated for one Filmfare Award and conferred honorary doctorate by MGR University for his extensive philanthropic works in 2007. He launched the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a social welfare organisation in 2009. He is also involved in politics, aligning with the currently ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly election.[4]
As a brand ambassador he promotes various enterprises including Tata DoCoMo and Jos Alukkas, and is the former ambassador of Coca-Cola in India and Chennai Super Kings.
Early life
Vijay was born to S. A. Chandrasekhar, noted film producer and director and Shobha Chandrasekhar, a Carnatic singer on 22 June 1974[6] in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He attended Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Virugambakkam, Chennai.[7] and completed his post-secondary studies at Loyola College in Chennai and entered film industry in 1992 at the age of 18. His parents initially wanted him to become doctor but Vijay was interested in films.
Early career (1992'96)
During his childhood, Vijay performed in uncredited roles in films produced by his father. At the age of 18, Vijay debuted as a lead actor in the 1992 film Naalaya Theerpu, produced by his father. In his next film Sendhoorapandi, he co-starred with Vijayakanth. His following films Rasigan and Deva were of modest budgets. In his fifth film Rajavin Parvaiyile in 1993, he co-starred with another currently leading actor Ajith Kumar, who played supporting role in that film. He further went on to act in the romantic comedy Vishnu and romantic tragedy Chandralekha during the mid 1990s. In early 1996, he starred in Coimbatore Mappillai a romantic comedy film.
Breakthrough (1996'03)
His next flim was the Vikraman-directed Poove Unakkaga which was his first commercial success and made Vijay a recognizable star. Vijay's tenth film Vasantha Vasal was followed by the action flicks Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selva and the romantic film Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen. In 1997 Vijay acted in the commercially successful movies Love Today,Once More, where he co-starred with the legendary Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan and leading actress Simran who made her debut,the Mani Ratnam-produced Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth, where he co-starred with another currently leading actor Suriya who made his debut in that film and the romantic drama Kadhalukku Mariyadhai,co-starring Shalini Ajith Kumar which was directed by Fazil and earned him a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 1998, Vijay worked in romantic films Ninaithen Vandhai, Priyamudan which was his first negative role, and Nilaave Vaa.In 1999 Vijay acted in the successful Thulladha Manamum Thullum again with Simran.This was followed by Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinile and the K.S.Ravikumar directed Minsara Kanna. At the start of the new millennium he did Kannukkul Nilavu with Fazil. By this time, Vijay decided to commit to entertaining and commercial ventures, which marked a change in his trend. His next venture Kushi, a romantic comedy co-starring Jyothika was directed by S. J. Suryah and became a box office hit. At the end of the year, he acted in a romantic drama, Priyamanavale, which was also a box office hit. His 2001 romantic comedy film Friends was directed by Siddique and featured him in the leading role alongside Suriya again. Badri an action'drama film which was the remake of the Tollywood film Thammudu and Shahjahan, a romantic drama, followed, both of which were moderately successful at the box office. In 2002, he starred in Thamizhan alongside Priyanka Chopra who made her acting debut in that film before her establishment as the leading Bollywood actress. The romantic drama Youth and action drama Bagavathi there by rounded off the year with 3 failures. Vijay began 2003 with the films Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai, both failures at the box office.
Commercial stardom (2003'07)
In late 2003, Vijay transformed from a romantic hero to an action hero, with the action-romance flick, Thirumalai directed by debutant Ramana and produced by K.Balachander's Kavithalaya Productions, which featured him in a new look and was a box office hit. Thirumalai was a turning point in Vijay's career. His new commercial mass acting style and punch dialogue delivery coupled with his comic timing endeared him to all types of audiences and he soon achieved a "Numero uno" status in Kollywood. Udhaya, a film which began filming in 2002 but became delayed, finally released at the start of 2004. Ghilli,a remake of the Tollywood film Okkadu released next in 2004, and became Vijay's biggest blockbuster at the time completing 200 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu. Directed by S. Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam, it co-starred Trisha and Prakash Raj. It was followed by Madhurey, an average hit. In 2005, he starred in the Perarasu-directed action film Thirupaachi which became a super hit,followed by a guest appearance in Sukran,the romantic comedy Sachien co-starring Genelia which became a decent hit, and the successful commercial film Sivakasi co-starring Asin, which was directed again by Perarasu. His next film Aadhi was produced by his father S.A.Chandrashekar and directed by Ramana again released in 2006, and was not well received despite its huge expectations.In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, the remake of the Tollywood film of the same name. Directed by Prabhu Deva, it became a box office blockbuster and the 2nd highest grossing Tamil film of 2007. Vijay's character in the film, a reprisal of Mahesh Babu's role in the original, was well praised by critics.
Career slump (2007'10)
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, and was a box office failure, despite the initial hype and expectations. In 2008, he starred in the action film Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction, which also failed at the box office. The year 2009 started off with the action masala film Villu, which was directed by Prabhu Deva who was keen on working with him again after Pokkiri. The film featured Vijay in dual roles for the second time in his career and again failed to meet the expectations at the box office. Vijay's next film Vettaikaaran which was directed by Babu Sivan, produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures was a hit,his first since Pokkiri. In 2010, he acted in his 50th film, Sura also distributed by Sun Pictures. Sura released admist huge fanfare and expectations, but was a box office disaster. Vijay was forced to give a compensation of INR6 crore (US$1.09 million) to the theatre owners who had suffered losses due to the screening of his recent films.[9] Most of his films during this period did not do well at the box office and Vijay's status as a leading star was questioned by critics. In late 2010 Vijay even fell out with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was virtually controlling the film industry at the time, following which he aligned with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and featured in its success in the 2011 assembly election.
Resurgence (2011'present)
In the start of 2011 he associated with director Siddique again, for the romantic drama Kaavalan, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard also co-starring Asin. It received a positive response from both viewers and critics and was deemed to be a box office hit, in spite of the ruling DMK stalling its release in many theatres which forced Vijay to shell out his salary and spend an extra INR4 crore (US$728,000) for the release of the film. During Diwali the same year, his next film, the action film Velayudham directed by M. Raja and produced by Venu Ravichandran released and was a box office blockbuster. Velayudham became one of the top grossing films of 2011. His next release was Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, where he essayed the role played by Aamir Khan in the original. Directed by acclaimed director S. Shankar, it released during the Pongal weekend of 2012 and was a box office blockbuster. Vijay's performance in the film was praised by critics, including leading Indian actor Kamal Haasan. Nanban went on to complete its 100th day theatrical run. Nanban is the biggest hit for Vijay till date.
He made a friendly appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore starring Akshay Kumar, directed by Prabhu Deva.The action thriller film Thuppakki, directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by S. Dhanu, released on Diwali 2012 to highly positive reviews and was a commercial success across the globe. He has signed to star in yet to be titled film with director A.L Vijay, which he is going to start after Thuppakki
Playback singing
Vijay is also a playback singer, his first song was "Bombay City" from Rasigan. He sang songs in most of the films he acted. He also sang "Naa Dhum Adhikkura" for another actor Surya for the film Periyanna. He last sang "Vaadi Vaadi" in the film Sachein. After 7 years he has sung "Google Google" for Harris Jayaraj for his film Thuppakki.
Personal life Family
Vijay married Sangeetha Sornalingam of Sri Lankan Tamil descent on August 25, 1999. They have two children, a son Jason Sanjay born in 2000 in London, and a daughter Divya Saasha born in 2005 in Chennai.
Brand endorsement
In the year 2002, Vijay appeared as Coca Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu. He acted in a variety of South Indian Coca Cola advertisements, along with Katrina Kaif. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as the star 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. As of August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.Tata Docomo has recently has signed Vijay, who will be seen for the first time for an Ad with Tata Docomo who are known for their innovative promotions all over.
Political and social activism
In 2010, he fell our with the ruling DMK owing to the delay of the release of his film Kaavalan in order to release the Kamal Hassan starrer Manmadhan Ambu, which was produced by DMK leader and the then Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin, its subsequent stalling of release in the theatres and various other issues related to the Tamil film industry, particular its monopoly by the ruling party. For the 2011 state assembly election, he declared his support for the AIADMK led alliance and the AIADMK welcomed him by providing 3 seats to his fan club, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam. He campaigned extensively for the AIADMK during the election campaign. He made a speech in Nagapattinam,[42][43] condemning the attack on the fishermen by the Sri Lankan Government, thus marking his political visionnage.
On 25th August 2011, Vijay went to the Ramlila Maidan to meet Anna Hazare and expressed support to the anti-corruption movement for the Lokpal. He lauded that the movement is getting public support without any political background and said that "the Gandhian's stir has triggered a nationwide debate on uprooting corruption".Philanthropy
Vijay converted his fan clubs into a people's movement called Vijay Makkal Iyakkam which was officially launched at Pudukottai on 26 July 2009. The star was at Kammiyampettai in Cuddalore to distribute five kilos of rice to the Thane cyclone affected people. Cuddalore was the worst affected area in the recent floods and Vijay decided to help these people out by rendering some assistance. His Makkal Mandram administrators arranged for a function at Cuddalore recently where the star distributed rice bags to the beneficiaries. The area in which the function happened wore a festive look with thousands of people gathering to catch a glimpse of their favorite star. Vijay appeared along with Surya, 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. 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. It can also be reminded that on his birthday every year Vijay gives golden rings to the new born babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital.
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