It came as a shocker for Thalapathy Vijay fans all over the world when the actor declared that he would soon quit films, following his political debut. Vijay stated that his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, will not be running in the general elections of 2024 and will instead contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, after which, he will quit acting. The actor is now filming Greatest of All Time, or GOAT, directed by Venkat Prabhu. Based on Vijay’s declaration, he has one more project planned after that which will be his 69th and final film.
As his cinematic career supposedly comes to an end, it becomes imperative to take a look at Vijay’s career. Vijay, who was raised in Madras, debuted as a young actor in the 1984 Tamil film Vetri. He acted in a few child roles before starring in the 1992 movie Naalaiya Theerpu. For the next few years, Vijay kept playing lead roles with varying degrees of success.
Notable films that he starred in were Poove Unakkaga, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Thulladha Manamum Thullum, Kushi and Friends. In 1998, the Tamil Nadu government bestowed upon him the title of Kalaimamani. Vijay was given the moniker Thalapathy from the 1994 film Rasigan and has since then been used as a prefix to his name. With the success of Thirupaachi and Pokkiri, he went on to become one of the most prominent and lucrative performers in Tamil cinema. In 2003, he starred in Ghilli, which became the first Tamil film to gross over ₹50 crore back then. After experiencing some degree of success, Vijay began to feature in several financially successful films in the late 2010s, such as Bigil, Sarkar, Varisu and Leo.
During the 2011 release of Velayutham, the host of a Malayalam show asked Vijay, “When are you going to surprise the fans by acting in a Malayalam film ?” Vijay jokingly replied, “What are you going to call your superstar?”
Vijay does not use his cell phone on the sets, instead, he keeps an eye on everything happening on the set, according to his co-stars. Actor Jeeva said in an interview that Vijay had a fever of 102 degrees during the shooting of the song All is Well featured in the movie Nanban, a remake of 3 Idiots. He still shot the scenes with a fever, showing his dedication towards his craft.
Vijay is also involved with charitable and social causes through his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam which has been involved in humanitarian activities not just in India but abroad as well. Vijay Makkal Iyakkam has received praise from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward from Burlington, Canada for undertaking charitable activities in the country. Vijay’s penchant for political issues was hinted at in the film Mersal where a dialogue which criticized the then newly implemented GST had caused a lot of uproar.
Vijay now joins the likes of MGR, Jayalalitha and Vijaykanth who transitioned from entertainment to politics.
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