Vijay filmography

Vijay in 2018 in Nadigar Sangam Protest

Vijay is an Indian actor, playback singer and politician who works in Tamil cinema. He made his cinematic debut in 1984 with Vetri, directed by his father, S. A. Chandrasekhar.[1] After appearing in Chandrasekhar's films as a child artist, Vijay made his debut as a lead actor with Naalaiya Theerpu (1992) at the age of 18.[1] He followed it with a role opposite Vijayakanth in Senthoorapandi (1993).[2] Vijay went on to play lead roles in his father's directorial ventures such as Rasigan(1994), Deva(1995) and Vishu(1995)[2][3] Most of those films were successful commercially.[4][5]

Vijay's first commercial blockbuster was romcom Coimbatore Mappillai in 1996,[6] followed by his breakthrough blockbuster romance film, Poove Unakkaga.[2][4] His subsequent films, Love Today (1997) and Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), were critically and commercially successful.[4][7] His performance in the latter won him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.[4] Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999), where he played a passionate singer gained him the reputation of a romantic hero.[8][9]

Vijay began the new millennium with critically and commercially successful films such as Kushi and Priyamaanavale.[10][11] The following year, he appeared in three films: Friends, Badri and Shahjahan. All three were box office successes;[12][13] barring successful ventures Thamizhan,[13] Youth and Bagavathi (all three released in 2002),[14][15] his subsequent films Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai were released. While Vaseegara was a moderate success and received praise for his comic-timing,[16] Puthiya Geethai received negative reviews and underperformed at the box office.[17][18][19] The success of his masala film Thirumalai (2003),[20] changed his on-screen persona to that of an action hero.[21] He appeared next as a kabaddi player in Ghilli (2004), which went on to become the most commercially successful Tamil film of the year.[4][22] His performance as a sword-smith in the masala film Thirupaachi (2005) earned him a special prize at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.[23][24] He continued to achieve commercial success with Sivakasi (2005) and Pokkiri (2007).[25][26] Barring Vettaikaaran and Kuruvi's box office successes,[27] his subsequent releases Azhagiya Tamil Magan (2007), where he played dual roles for the first time in his career,[28] and Villu (2009) were average successes;[29][30][31] his 50th film, Sura (2010), managed to recover only its production cost.[32]

In 2011 Vijay's career prospects improved after he was praised for his role as a bodyguard in Kaavalan, which had a 100-day theatrical run and was a box office hit.[33][34] Velayudham in which, he appeared as a masked superhero was commercially successful worldwide.[35] The following year he appeared in two films: as a college student in Nanban and an army officer in Thuppakki.[36][37] His performances in both films received positive critical feedback.[38] He followed that with Thalaivaa (2013) and the multi-starrer Jilla (2014) which was commercially successful.[39][40] He teamed up with Murugadoss again for the action film Kaththi (2014). The film, which had Vijay playing dual roles as a thief and an idealist, became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of that year; his performances earned him critics praise.[41][42] In his next film, fantasy Puli (2015), he featured again in dual roles;[43] it was an overseas success.[44] The following year, he played a police officer in Atlee's Theri to mixed reviews.[45] The film had one of the biggest openings in Tamil cinema and was a major commercial success.[46][47][48] Vijay's performance won him South Indian International Movie Awards.[49][50] He played triple roles for the first time in Mersal (2017).[51] In addition to garnering a UK Award for Best Actor,[52][53] the film became a box office success.[54] Vijay earned critical acclaim for Sarkar (2018).[55][56] He also starred in films Bigil (2019), Master (2021), Beast (2022), Varisu, Leo (both 2023) and He played a four roles in The Greatest of All Time (2024), all of which garnered mixed reviews but were commercially successful in the box office, with Leo becoming the highest-grossing film of his career.[57][58]

  1. ^ a b "22 ஆண்டுகளில் விஜய்யின் சினிமா பயணம்!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Vijay & Dharani". Sify. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  3. ^ "70 வயது 70 சினிமாக்கள் எஸ்.ஏ.சந்திரசேகரன் அன்றும்-இன்றும்". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 14 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Saraswathi, S. (23 June 2014). "Looking at Vijay's TOP 7 landmark films". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Happy Birthday Vijay: 10 best films of Ilayathalapathy as a performer—Poove Unakkaga (1996)". India Today. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Coimbatore Mappilai blockbuster at the box office". The News Minute. 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  7. ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (11 November 2008). "The best of Surya". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Happy Birthday Vijay: 10 best films of Ilayathalapathy as a performer—Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999)". India Today. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  9. ^ Rajendran, Sowmya (7 January 2017). "Vijay, the king of the formula film". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Happy Birthday Vijay: 10 best films of Ilayathalapathy as a performer—Kushi (2000)". India Today. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Happy Birthday Vijay: 10 best films of Ilayathalapathy as a performer—Priyamanavale (2000)". India Today. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Kushi, Priyamaanavale, Friends, Badri – The 4 Continuous Successes - #22YearsOfVijayism: The 11 Big Box Office Comebacks of Ilayathalapathy Vijay". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b "'Shajahan' – 2001". The Times of India. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  14. ^ Warrier, Shobha (2 November 2002). "No big Tamil film release this Diwali". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
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  16. ^ "'Priyamanavale' to 'Pokkiri': Five blockbuster Tamil films of Vijay that were remade from Telugu". The Times of India. 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  17. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (16 May 2002). "Blame it on the beauties". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  18. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (8 November 2002). "As star power wanes..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  19. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (12 June 2003). "Big budget survivor". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  20. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (29 December 2003). "Reel of fortune". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  21. ^ Kamath, Sudhish (12 October 2003). "Kollywood crackers". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  22. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (31 December 2004). "Year 2004 – a flashback". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Tirupachi". Sify. 14 January 2005. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Film awards announced; Rajini, Kamal chosen best actors". The Hindu. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  25. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (30 December 2005). "Tamil cinema's new high". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  26. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (28 December 2007). "The Fantastic Five". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Chennai Box Office–Jan 22 to 24". Sify. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  28. ^ Seshagiri, Sangeetha (25 January 2014). "Vijay to Appear in Double Role in Murugadoss Film?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  29. ^ "CBO – Nov 30 to Dec 2". Sify. 4 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  30. ^ "Chennai Box-Office (June 13–15)". Sify. 17 June 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  31. ^ "Chennai Box Office (Jan 30 to February 1, 2009)". Sify. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  32. ^ "Did you know Vijay's 'Sura' director SP Rajkumar was going to team up with Ajith a few years back?". The Times of India. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  33. ^ N., Sudarshan (19 January 2011). "Vijay's back and how!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  34. ^ Ravi, Nandita (3 February 2011). "Vijay has made a comeback: Siddique". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  35. ^ "Velayudham And Ra One Superheroes". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  36. ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (12 January 2012). "Review: Nanban is worth a watch". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  37. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (16 November 2012). "Thuppakki: 'The wait' has been worth it". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  38. ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (28 October 2016). "What we've learnt from Bairavaa's teaser". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  39. ^ "Year Roundup: The biggest Telugu and Tamil films of 2013". Deccan Chronicle. 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  40. ^ Kumar, S. Shiva (16 January 2014). "Four films and superstars". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  41. ^ "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 3 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  42. ^ Seshagiri, Sangeetha (1 January 2015). "From Vijay's 'Kaththi' to Ajith's 'Veeram': Top Grossing Tamil Films of 2014". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  43. ^ Saraswathi, S (1 October 2015). "Review: Puli fails to impress". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
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  45. ^ Bhaskaran, Gautaman (27 April 2016). "Theri review: Vijay is delightfully human, not his usual cold-face self". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
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  51. ^ Kumar R, Manoj (18 October 2017). "Mersal movie review: There is never a dull moment in this Vijay starrer". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
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  54. ^ Cain, Rob (24 November 2017). "Vijay Nails Another Career Milestone With ₹250 Crore/$38.5M Worldwide Gross By 'Mersal'". Forbes. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  55. ^ "'Varisu' first review out; Vijay's acting receives appreciation". The Times of India. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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  57. ^ "Varisu box office collections; Vijay starrer is a Blockbuster, Tops 200 crores in India". Pinkvilla. 30 January 2023. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023. The film has also done well overseas with $10.75 million (Rs. 88 crores) to date, for a worldwide gross of Rs. 292 crores.
  58. ^ "'Bigil' Review: From calling it extraordinary to disappointing, Twitterati have mixed reactions for Vijay-Atlee's film". DNA India. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.