A Tamil actor who has been in the industry since the early 90s, making his way through several adversities and conquering countless hearts. The actor who was once ridiculed for his skills and looks, managed to emerge as a superstar who still inspires many.
Here we are, celebrating the 50th birthday of Thalapathy Vijay, an actor who stole millions of hearts with both his efforts on the screen and off the screen.
Thalapathy Vijay: An entertainer for ages
Born on June 22, 1974, as Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, the actor started off his career as a child artist, working in his father SA Chandrasekhar’s movies like Vetri and Kudumbam. However, the actor’s feature debut only came in 1992 with the movie Naalaiya Theerpu, a vigilante action flick.
However, his first cinematic venture became a box office bomb which even resulted in a magazine criticizing the actor by saying, “Should we pay to see this face in theaters?” Despite the low footfall in his debut, the actor regained to the forefront of Tamil cinema yet again but now with the help of late Tamil superstar Captian Vijayakanth in the movie Senthoorapandi.
The former’s public appeal and appearance in the young actor’s film made a unique impact on the film and Vijay’s career. The romantic action flick managed to become a commercial hit and a true launch for the actor’s career.
Over the following couple of years, the featured in several movies that were either failures or average runs at the box office, up until 1996 when he was featured in the film Poove Unakkaga. The movie directed by Vikraman gave the actor his first blockbuster, cementing his career as a lead hero.
The success of Poove Unakkaga led to the rise of the actor’s popularity which followed several commercial hits in his career and even gave him his critically acclaimed role in Kadhalukku Mariyadhai and Thulladha Manamum Thullum. The hits and decent runs in the box office gave the actor opportunities to be a viable performer but it was still behind the start of his superstardom.
However, by 2004, Thalapathy Vijay had starred in the Tamil remake of Okkadu called Ghilli which catapulted his career to becoming a star. His image and popularity as a leading actor exponentially increased, breaking several box officer records up until that time.
Check out the Ghilli trailer:
Following this several years of the actor’s career were filled with commercially viable movies like Thirupaachi, Sivakasi, and Pokkiri. Afterward, the actor went on to feature in several films which were neither commercial successes nor critical ones, making everyone doubt whether his magic had fizzled out.
However, those who ever thought that like were proven to be wrong when the actor once again broke his own image with his 2012 action thriller movie, Thuppakki. The film directed by AR Murugadoss once again managed to signify the actor’s worth as an entertainer, taking on a stylish and character-driven persona that eventually marked the start of his superstardom.
Check out the Thuppakki trailer:
Even though the actor had to face several problematic situations thereafter as well, his fan support and craze only grew much stronger than it was ever before.
Thalapathy Vijay’s future in cinema
Thalapathy Vijay is undoubtedly one of the most profitable and successful contemporary actors in Indian cinema as of now. However, despite being at the peak of his career, the actor had recently announced his intention to put a hold on his cinema life, inadvertently making his 69th film, an alleged final one.
With the actor currently in the final leg of his next release The Greatest Of All Time aka The GOAT, the superstar is getting into the shoes of a political leader. Even though it is with a heavy heart fans are awaiting his final cinematic venture, the actor has given countless memories in cinema halls that most people will cherish for life. Here’s wishing a superstar on his 50th birthday!
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