Career
[edit]Early years: 1992-2002
The following year, Vijay continued to pursue
romantic comedy films like
Coimbatore Mappillai. The
Vikraman-directed
Poove Unakkaga helped Vijay to become a recognisable actor. Vijay's tenth film was
Vasantha Vasal which was followed by the action flicks
Maanbumigu Maanavan and
Selva. After more romance films in 1997, like
Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen and
Love Today, Vijay took up the romantic comedy film,
Once More, in which he co-starred with legendary Tamil film actor
Sivaji Ganesan. In his next film, the
Mani Ratnam-produced
Nerukku Ner, directed by
Vasanth, he co-starred with
Suriya who happened to make his debut in that film. He wrapped up that year with his first commercial success,
Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, which was directed by
Fazil and earned him a
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.
At the start of the new millennium he did
Kannukkul Nilavu with Fazil. He decided not to commit in films that took a year to release, which changed his trend. His next venture
Kushi was directed by
S. J. Suryah. At the end of the year, he acted in
Priyamanavale. His 2001
comedy film Friends was directed by
Siddique and featured him alongside Suriya again.
Badri was an action - drama flick which he followed with the romance film,
Shahjahan.
[edit]Commercial success: 2003-2007
Vijay then switched gears with the action-romance flick,
Thirumalai, which featured him with a new look.
Udhaya, a film which began filming in 2002 but became delayed, finally released at the start of 2004.
Ghilli, which was released in 2004, is considered as one of Vijay's biggest commercial successes. Directed by
S. Dharani and produced by
A. M. Rathnam, it was a remake of the
Telugu film
Okkadu, and ran for 200 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu. It was followed by
Madhurey. It was in this year which Vijay began to portray his current mass-hero, stereotypical acting style, giving him a major turning point in his career. The following year, 2005, had other major films such as the
Perarasu-directed
Thirupaachi, the romantic flick
Sachien, and another masala film,
Sivakasi, again by Perarasu.
His next film
Aadhi, was released in 2006. He later accepted to work in
Pokkiri that year. Directed by
Prabhu Deva, it released in 2007 and met almost the same success
Ghilli did, in which Vijay played the character of an undercover cop diguised as a local gangster. Vijay's performance was well praised and received an award from actor
Kamal Haasan at Nehru Stadium for his performance. He received honorary doctorate from M.G.R University for his philanthropic works.
[edit]2007-2010
Late 2007, Vijay starred in the romantic
drama film Azhagiya Thamizh Magan, and for the first time, he appeared in dual roles, as both the antagonist and protagonist. In 2008, he starred in the action film
Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction.
The year 2009 started off with the action masala film
Villu, which was directed by Prabhu Deva who was keen on working with him again after
Pokkiri. The film featured Vijay in dual roles for the second time in his career. Vijay's next film,
Vettaikaaran was directed by Babu Sivan, produced by
AVM Productions and distributed by
Sun Pictures.
In 2010, Vijay's 50th film
Sura releases, which was also distributed by Sun Pictures.
[edit]2011 onwards
[edit]Personal life
Vijay married Sangeetha Sornalingam
[8][9] of
Sri Lankan Tamil descent on August 25, 1999. They have two children, a son Jason Sanjay born in 2000 in London,
[10] and a daughter Divya Saasha born in 2005 in
Chennai.
[edit]Brand endorsement
[edit]Awards and honours
- Honours
- Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
- Vijay Awards
- Other Awards
- Madras Corporate Club Best Actor Award for Ghilli (2004)
- Dinakaran Best Actor Award for Ghilli (2004)
- Film Today Best Actor Award for Ghilli (2004)
- Silver award for Public Service Announcement (2005)[17]
- Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actor in Tamil for Pokkiri (2007)
- Isaiyaruvi Tamil Music Award - Best Hero for Pokkiri (2007)
- Isaiyaruvi Tamil Music Award - Favorite Actor (2009)
- Asianet Film Awards - Best Popular Tamil Actor (2010)
- Nominated
[edit]Filmography