When it comes to Tamil cinema, there are very few actors other than Rajinikanth who command a widespread fan following and devotion. One of the rare few is Thalapathy Vijay. On account of Thalapathy Vijay’s birthday, here are some lesser-known facts about the actor, take a look
1. Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, born on June 22, 1974, popularly known as Vijay, has a massive fan following globally, fans call him as Thalapathy. He is one of the highest paid actors in India.
2. At 10 years old, he made his debut as a child actor in the film Vetri (1984)
3. Vijay made his debut as a hero with the film Naalaiya Theerpu, at the age of 18 under his father S. A. Chandrasekar’s direction. He got this chance as a hero by reciting the dialogue from Annaamalai, and his father was impressed and launched his son as a hero.
4. Vijay is a hardcore Superstar Rajinikanth fan and it was the veteran actor who truly inspired him to become an actor. He also acted as a child artist in Rajinikanth’s Naan Sivappu Manithan. Vijay’s favorite film was Annamalai and he watched it more than 30 times.
5. Vijay is supremely fond of his sister, Vidhya Chandrasekhar, who passed away at the age of two. It changed him a lot as a person and he has done many philanthropic activities in her memory. Even his production house – VV Productions stands for Vidhya-Vijay Productions.
6. Vijay has been awarded the Kalaimaamani – which is one of the highest honours in the field of art in Tamil Nadu which he received in just 6 years of entering the film industry.
7. Thalapathy Vijay has introduced more than 20 directors to the Tamil Film industry.
8. During one of his visits to the US, Vijay saw Tom Cruise’s beach house. Impressed by it, Vijay got a picture and replicated a similar beach house for himself in Neelankarai.
9. Vijay launched a social welfare organization called ‘Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ which carries out his philanthropic work. His fans participate in blood donation drives every year on his birthday.
10. He usually helps society without publicity, for example he gave Rs 5 crore during the Chennai floods 2015 which was less known compared to contributions from others. He also helped the daughter of a tea stall owner to obtain admission to a private college.
