- Vijay debuted as a child actor in the 1984 Tamil film Vetri, directed by his father SA Chandrasekhar
- His political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly elections
- Vijay played the younger version of Vijaykanth's character in the crime action film Vetri
Forty-two years ago, Vijay stepped in front of the camera for the first time. It was in his father SA Chandrasekhar's Tamil movie Vetri. The actor, who made his screen debut at the age of 9 in 1984, is set to form the government in Tamil Nadu after his political party TVK won the recent state Assembly polls.
Perhaps it was all meant to be.
Vetri followed Tamil star Vijaykanth's character Vijay, a college student who is accused of murdering his professor. Vijay, who was a child actor at the time, played the younger version of Vijaykanth's Vijay in the crime action film.
It's fitting that Vetri is the middle name of TVK, whose full name is Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. The spelling may be slightly different, but the meaning of the word is what matters.
The Tamil word 'vetri' means "victory" or "success" in English. Vijay's name also means victory. So, the equation is simple: Vetri = Victory = Vijay.
Now, Vijay's two-year-old political party TVK has achieved a historic feat in the Tamil Nadu polls. As the results were announced on Monday, the actor -- who awaits the release of his swansong Jana Nayagan -- truly became 'People's Leader'.
As a child actor, Vijay later appeared in several Tamil films directed by his father such as Kudumbam (1984), Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985), and Vasantha Raagam (1986). In fact, the actor made his debut as a leading man in SA Chandrasekhar's Naalaiya Theerpu (1992) in which he starred at the age of 18. The film flopped but the father-son duo kept at it. They went on to work in films, including Senthoorapandi, Rasigan, Deva, and Vishnu.
It was his father SA Chandrasekhar who dreamt the big dream for his son early on. His manifestation for Vijay came true when he emerged victorious with TVK in Tamil Nadu.
After it became clear that TVK had changed the face of state politics, SA Chandrasekhar was beaming with pride.
"First of all, as a father, I'm very proud and happy... I've been seeing his confidence level over the last two years," the filmmaker told ANI.
"It's a good thing for Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu people, Tamil people. Definitely, I think it's a historical success, a historical victory for Vijay," he said.
"Tamil people loved him not only as a leader. Every lady considers him as his own son. Young people consider him their own brother. Everyone calls him 'Anna'. 'Anna' means brother. Old ladies, they consider him their own son. Some 60-year-old ladies consider him their grandson. He has developed that relationship between the public and him," SA Chandrasekhar added.
Interestingly, back in 2020, Vijay distanced himself from 'All-India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam', a political party reportedly registered by his father, reports said.
According to The Hindu, the actor issued a statement, informing his fans that he had "no connection with this political outfit started by my father, directly or indirectly".
"I request my fans not to join the outfit simply because it is my father who started it," he said at the time.
SA Chandrasekhar also clarified that Vijay had nothing to do with the political party.
From starting his film career with his father, dissociating himself from a political party started by him, to telling SA Chandrasekhar about his Chief Ministerial ambitions, Vijay has come a long way.
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