Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar aka Vijay is a respected South Indian actor and playback singer as well, who mostly works in Kollywood. Today’s youth are crazy about Vijay’s dance moves. Let us proceed with a brief journey of Vijay’s personal and professional life.
Biography/Wiki
Vijay was born on 22 June 1974 (age 49, in 2023) in Chennai, India. He is one of the highest paid Kollywood (Tamil Cinema) actors. Whether it’s acting, singing or dancing; multi-talented actor excels in all fields. Not only in India, he has his fan following in China, Japan, UK and France. His films were screened in over eighty countries and five continents. He entered the industry as a child artist and later emerged as one of the greatest actors of Kollywood, the actor contributed 61 films (one in 2018). Vijay’s films are mostly dubbed into Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese. The media has given him the title, Thalapathy which means commander. Not just an actor, singer and dancer, Vijay is also a philanthropist, who has contributed a lot to social causes.
Physical appearance
Vijay is 5′ 10″ and weighs around 75 Kg. His body measurements are as follows: 40-30-14. He has brown eyes and black hair. 
Family, Wife & Religion
Vijay was born into a Roman Catholic Family to SA Chandrasekhar, who was a Tamil film director and Shobha, who was a Carnatic playback singer and vocalist.
Vijay’s childhood photos with his parents
Vijay had a sister named Vidhya, who died when he was only 2 years old. His mother revealed that Vijay was deeply affected by his sister’s death. A talkative and mischievous boy in his childhood, he became very quiet and shy after his death.
Vijay’s childhood photos with his mother and sister
On 25 August 1999, Vijay married one of his biggest fans, Sangeetha Sornalingam who is a Hindu British Sri Lankan Tamil.
Vijay with his wife
The couple is blessed with a son, Jason Sanjay (born in 2000 in London) and a daughter, Divya Shasha (born in 2005 in Chennai).
Vijay with his children
In 2009, his son Jason Sanjay made a guest appearance alongside his father in the film Vettaikaaran, and his daughter Divya Shasha played a small role as her father’s pre-teen daughter in the film Theri (2016).
Career
Vijay studied at Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School and completed his schooling from Balalok Matriculation Higher Secondary School. After completing his schooling, Vijay enrolled himself in Loyola College to pursue his studies in Visual Communication. However, he stopped studying because he wanted to focus more on his acting career. At the age of 10, he made his debut as a child artist with the film Vetri (1984) directed by his father, SA Chandrasekhar.
Vijay in his debut film, Vetri, as a child artist
He acted as a child artist in films like Kudumbam (1984), Vasantha Raagam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987), and Ithu Engal Neethi (1988). In 1985, she again acted as a child artist in the film, Naan Sigappu Manithan, starring Rajinikanth. In 1992, she made her acting debut in the film, Naalaiya Theerpu. In 1996, his film, Poove Unakkaga, directed by Vikraman, became a breakthrough film for Vijay and made him a big star.
Vijay in his film, Poove Unakkaga
After that, he gave a series of super-hits including Vasantha Vasal, Maanbumigu Maanavan, Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen, and Selva. Vijay wins ‘Tamil Nadu State Film Award’; Best Actor for his films, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, and Thulladha Manamum Thullum. In 2002, Vijay starred in the film Thamizhan, opposite Priyanka Chopra.
Vijay with Priyanka Chopra
It was Priyanka’s debut before she entered Bollywood and became one of the leading actresses. His film, Ghilli released in 2004, later became the first Tamil film to cross 500 million at the domestic box-office. Vijay starrer Pokkiri, directed by Prabhu Deva, became the 3rd highest grossing film of 2007 and went on to become the first Tamil film to run for 100 days in theaters in Kerala.
The film received critical and public acclaim. His film, Vettaikaaran, went on to become one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2009. In 2011, he acted in the film, Kaavalan (a Tamil Malayalam adaptation, Bodyguard) which was a hit at the box office and later, it was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.
Vijay in his film, Kaavalan
In 2012, he appeared in the Tamil film ‘3 Idiots’ remake, Nanban, where he played the role of ‘Rancho’ played by Aamir Khan in the original film.
The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia. Vijay made a cameo appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore, directed by Prabhu Deva and starring Akshay Kumar.
Vijay’s next film, Thuppakki (2012), became the 3rd Tamil film to enter the 1 Billion club after films, Sivaji (2007) and Enthiran (2010). In 2017, Mersal became the highest grossing film of Vijay’s career, approximately around ₹2,500,000,000. The film was also released in 4 major Japanese cities; Ebina, Tokyo, Osako, and Nakaya. After Kaavalan, his film, Mersal also released in China. Mersal was also screened at the Bucheon International Film Festival, South Korea.
Vijay starrer ‘Sarkar’ went on to become the highest grossing film of 2018 breaking the records of many Hindi films like Aamir’s Thugs of Hindostan, Gold, and Raazi. He became the brand signifier for many brands like Coca-Cola, Sunfeast, Tata Docomo, etc. Vijay is also the ambassador for Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings. Vijay is also a playback singer and holds the record of 32 songs (one in 2018). His song, Selfie Pulla, topped the charts across Europe in 2014.
Following his meeting with members of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) at his Panaiyur office in Chennai on July 11, 2023, reports in the media indicated that Vijay had plans to start a padayatra across Tamil Nadu before the release of his upcoming film ‘Leo’ as a step towards entering politics.
Award
- As of 2018, Vijay has a total count of 50 awards.
- Vijay was honored with the People’s Choice Superstar Award at the TV Vijay awards in 2008.
- His 50 awards include several prestigious awards like 3 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, 3 Edison Awards, 8 Vijay Awards, 2 Vikatan Awards, 1 Cosmopolitan Award, 1 India today Award, 1 SIIMA Award, etc.
- Vijay was nominated at the UK National Film Awards, for his role in Mersal in 2018 and the film also won the ‘Best Foreign Language Film Award’ at the National Film Awards, UK.
Facts
- Vijay’s films have clashed 5 times in a row with Shah Rukh Khan’s films at the worldwide box office.
- A tribute was paid to Vijay when his song, Varalam Va Bairavaa, was played in the background of a battle sequence in the film, Golmaal Again. Also Vijay’s poster from the film, ‘Theri’ was displayed at the scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyqiTRYOR3E
- His fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh have requested the production to dub his movie in Hindi version in their cinemas.
- Vijay has appeared numerous times in India’s ‘Forbes Celebrity 100 list’, ranked #28 in 2012, #49 in 2013, #41 in 2014, #61 in 2016 and #31 in 2017.
- Instead of celebrating his birthday in a hotel, he distributed free books to economically weaker students.
Social work
As a philanthropist, he founded a social welfare organization, ‘Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ which means ‘Vijay People’s Organization.’ Vijay offered his services to those affected by ‘Cyclone Thane.’ Vijay Organization launched, ‘Vijay Education Award,’ a move to promote education and honor the students who topped the 12th and SSLC board exams 2012 and the award was distributed by Vijay.
Vijay at the Vijay Education Awards event
In November 2014, he distributed gold rings to the families of newborn babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital. Vijay also helps a girl named, Fathima, daughter of a tea stall owner, to enroll her in a private college in Kodambakkam since she scored well in Mathematics in her 12th board exam. Vijay offered financial help to a family of a girl who ended her life after she did not get a medical seat in the NEET exam in 2017. After the floods that hit Kerala in 2018, she distributed relief materials worth ₹70 lakh with the help of her fan club to flood victims in Kerala. He also provided his services to those affected by ‘Cyclone Gaja’ in November 2018 in Tamil Nadu.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
