Joseph Vij Chandrasekhar aka Vijay is a respected South Indian actor and playback singer who mainly works in Kollywood. Today’s youth are fascinated by Vijay’s signature dance moves. Let’s take a brief look at Vijay’s personal and professional life.
Biography/Wiki
Vijay was born on June 22, 1974, in Chennai, India (age 49 years as of 2023). He is one of the highest paid actors in Kollywood (Tamil cinema). Be it acting, singing or dancing; this versatile actor excels in every field. Not only in India, he has fans in China, Japan, UK and France. His films have been screened in more than eighty countries on five continents. He entered the industry as a child artist and went on to become one of Kollywood’s greatest actors who acted in 61 movies (2018). Vijay’s films are mostly dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Mandarin. The media gave him a title: Thalapathy, which means commander. Vijay is not only an actor, singer and dancer but also a philanthropist who has contributed a lot to social causes.
appearance
Vijay is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 75 kg. His body measurements are as follows: 40-30-14. He has brown eyes and black hair. 
Family, Wife and Religion
Vijay was born into a Roman Catholic family, his father SA Chandrasekhar is a Tamil film director and his mother Shobha is a playback singer and Carnatic singer.
A photo of Vijay with his parents when he was a child
Vijay had a sister named Vidhya who died when she was two years old. Her mother revealed that Vijay was deeply affected by the death of his sister. A talkative and playful boy in his childhood, he became very silent and shy after her death.
Childhood photos of Vijay with his mother and sister
On August 25, 1999, Vijay married one of his biggest fans, Sangeetha Sornalingam, who is Hindu, British, Sri Lankan, and Tamil.
Vijay and his wife
The couple has a son Jason Sanjay (born in London in 2000) and a daughter Divya Shasha (born in Chennai in 2005).
Vijay and his children
In 2009, his son Jason Sanjay made a cameo appearance with his father in the film Vettaikaaran, while his daughter Divya Shasha played a small role as her father’s pre-teen daughter in the film Theri (2016).
Profession
Vijay studied at Fatima Matriculation High School and completed his schooling at Balaloc Matriculation High School. After completing his studies, Vijay enrolled in Loyola College to pursue a degree in visual communication. However, he gave up his studies because he wanted to focus more on his acting career. He made his debut as a child artist at the age of 10 with the film Vetri (1984) directed by his father SA Chandrasekhar.
Vijay plays a child artist in his debut film ‘Vetri’
He worked as a child artist in films such as Kudumbam (1984), Vasantha Raagam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987) and Ithu Engal Neethi (1988). In 1985, he again played a child artist in the film “Naan Sigappu Manithan” starring Rajinikanth. In 1992, she made her debut as an actor in the movie “Nalea Serp”. The 1996 film Poove Unakkaga, directed by Vikraman, became Vijay’s breakthrough film and made him a well-known star.
Vijay in his movie Poove Unakkaga
Thereafter, he released a series of super hits including Vasantha Vasal, Maanbumigu Maanavan, Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen and Selva. Vijay won the “Tamil Nadu National Film Award”; he won the Best Actor Award for the movies “Kadhalukku Mariyadhai” and “Thulladha Manamum Thullum”. In 2002, Vijay starred in the movie “Thamizhan” opposite Priyanka Chopra.
Vijay and Priyanka Chopra
This was Priyanka’s acting debut before she entered Bollywood and became one of the leading ladies. His film “Gili” was released in 2004 and became the first Tamil film to cross 50 million at the domestic box office. The Vijay-starrer film Pokkiri, directed by Prabhu Deva, became the third highest-grossing film of 2007 and became the first Tamil film to complete 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 starred in the film Kaavalan (the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard), which received rave reviews at the box office. , the film was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.
Vijay in his film Kaavalan
In 2012, he appeared in the Tamil film “Nanban”, a remake of “3 Idiots”, playing “Rancho”, played by Aamir Khan in the original film.
The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia. In 2012, Vijay made a cameo appearance in the Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore, directed by Prabhu Deva and starring Akshay Kumar.
Vijay’s next film “Thuppakki” (2012) became the third Tamil film to enter the $1 billion club after “Sivaji” (2007) and “Enthiran” (2010). In 2017, Messal became the highest-grossing film of Vijay’s career, with an estimated revenue of around Rs 250 crore. The film was also screened in 4 major cities in Japan; Ebina, Tokyo, Oako, and Nakatani. After his film Kaavalan, Mersal also premiered in China. Messar also premiered at the Bucheon International Fantasy Film Festival in South Korea.
Vijay-starrer film Sarkar became the highest-grossing film of 2018, breaking the records of many Hindi films such as Aamir’s Thugs of Hindostan, Golden and Raazi. He has become the brand ambassador for Coca-Cola, Sunfeast, Tata Docomo and many other brands. Vijay has also become the ambassador of Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings. Vijay is also a playback singer with a record of 32 songs (2018). His song “Selfie Pulla” topped the European charts in 2014.
After meeting members of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) at his Panaiyur office in Chennai on July 11, 2023, news circulating in the media suggested that Vijay was planning to conduct padayatra across Tamil Nadu ahead of his upcoming film “Leo” is a step towards entering politics.
Awards
- As of 2018, Vijay has received a total of 50 awards.
- In 2008, Vijay won the People’s Choice Superstar Award at the Vijay TV Awards.
- His 50 awards include some prestigious awards like 3 Tamil Nadu Film Awards, 3 Edison Awards, 8 Vijay Awards, 2 Vikatan Awards, 1 Metropolitan Award, 1 India Today Award, 1 SIIMA Award etc.
- In 2018, Vijay was nominated for a British National Film Award for his role in Mersal, which also won the British National Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
fact
- Vijay’s films clashed with Shah Rukh Khan’s films at the global box office five times in a row.
- Vijay’s song Varalam Va Bairavaa was played in the background during the fight scenes in the movie “Golmaal Again” as a tribute to Vijay. The poster of Vijay’s movie “Theri” was also displayed on the set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyqiTRYOR3E
- His fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh requested the production company to dub Hindi versions of his films in their theaters.
- Vijay has been included in India’s “Forbes Celebrity 100” list many times, ranking 28th in 2012, 49th in 2013, 41st in 2014, 61st in 2016 and 31st in 2017.
- Instead of celebrating his birthday at a hotel, he distributed free books to financially disadvantaged students.
social work
Being a philanthropist, he founded a social welfare organization “Vijay Makkal Iyakkam” which means “Vijay People’s Organization”. Vijay provided services to those affected by the Tarn Cyclone. Vijay’s organization has launched the ‘Vijay Education Awards’ to promote education and recognize students who have excelled in the 12th board examinations and SSLC 2012, which is presented by Vijay.
Vijay attended the Vijay Education Award event
In November 2014, he distributed gold rings to the families of newborn babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital. Vijay also helped Fathima, the daughter of a tea stall owner, get admission in a private college in Kodambakkam as she excelled in Mathematics in her 12th board examination. In 2017, Vijay provided financial assistance to the family of a girl who ended her life after she could not get a medical seat in the NEET exam. After Kerala was hit by devastating floods in 2018, he distributed relief materials worth Rs 70 lakh with the help of his family. Fan club extends help to flood-affected victims in Kerala. He also served people affected by the Gaja cyclone in Tamil Nadu in November 2018.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education