Born on June 22, 1974, Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, better known by his stage name Vijay, is an Indian actor and singer who primarily performs in Tamil films. With over 65 acting credits, Vijay is one of the most financially successful performers in Tamil cinema history. He has acted in several of the biggest-grossing Tamil films ever, and he is also one of the most paid actors in India.
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 movies were Poove Unakkaga, Love Today, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, and Thulladha Manamum.Vijay was known as Ilaya Thalapathy and he was in charge for thirty years. There are many hopefuls who can learn from his exponential growth. Even at 43, Vijay went by Ilaya Thalapathy. Tamil for "Ilaya" means "young."
The year 2017 saw Vijay and filmmaker Atlee decide to adopt the Thalapathy moniker, which denotes a commander or leader. When Mersal's first-look poster was shown, Thalapathy was given credit. His admirers rejoiced like it was a carnival, thrilled to see the transformation.
As Vijay grew in popularity, his admirers began to view him as a potential political figure. He abandoned his reserved persona and won over his admirers with his insightful statements in public on a wide range of social concerns.
Vijay established Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, his own fan group, in 2009. During the 2011 assembly elections, the group backed the AIADMK coalition. In October 2021, the organization ran in the Tamil Nadu local body elections and won 115 of the 169 seats up for grabs. Vijay declared the formation of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, his political party, on February 2, 2024. Political commentators speculated that the TVK party may soon expand to include the northern states of India.
Vijay has a net worth of more than ₹420 crore as of 2021.Vijay received a salary of ₹100 crore for Beast and an estimated ₹120 crore to ₹150 crore for Varisu. He reportedly earned ₹200 crore in 2023, making him one of the highest paid actors in India.
The Income Tax Department searched Vijay's Chennai home on February 5, 2020, looking for possible tax evasion and his real estate holdings. Subsequently, the officials declared that the raid turned up nothing noteworthy. On July 13, 2021, the Madras High Court denied Vijay's 2012 writ case, which sought to have the entry tax on his imported Rolls-Royce Ghost car from the United Kingdom waived. Vijay was also fined ₹1 lakh.
