Background and career
Chandrasekaran Joseph Vijay (born 22 June 1974) is an Indian politician and former actor who is currently serving as the 9th chief minister of Tamil Nadu since 10 May 2026. He is the founder and president of the political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Prior to entering politics, he was a leading actor in Tamil cinema and among the highest-paid actors in India, having won numerous accolades including multiple Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and South Indian International Movie Awards. Following a stint as a child actor in the 1980s, Vijay made his debut as a leading man in Naalaiya Theerpu (1992), directed by his father S. A. Chandrasekhar. He rose to fame with romance films such as Poove Unakkaga (1996), Love Today (1997), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Thullatha Manamum Thullum (1999), Kushi (2000), Priyamaanavale (2000), Friends (2001) before transitioning into an action star with Thirumalai (2003), Ghilli (2004), Madhurey (2004), Thirupaachi (2005) and Pokkiri (2007). From the 2010s onward, he starred in major commercial successes including Thuppakki (2012), Kaththi (2014), Theri (2016), Mersal (2017), Sarkar (2018), Bigil (2019), Master (2021), Leo (2023) and The Greatest of All Time (2024) which rank among the highest-grossing Tamil films. Beyond his film career, Vijay cultivated a fan following, which he consolidated into the social welfare organisation Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) in 2009. Through VMI, he engaged in extensive philanthropic activities across Tamil Nadu. In many of his later films, such as Kaththi and Sarkar, he cultivated the image of an angry protagonist fighting against corruption, injustice, and social inequality, which frequently brought him into conflict with the state's ruling political establishment. In February 2024, Vijay announced his retirement from cinema and his formal entry into politics. He launched the TVK, a secular and egalitarian party but an alternative to the established Dravidian parties. The TVK secured 108 seats in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, emerging as the single-largest party and breaking the nearly half-century-long political duopoly of the DMK and the AIADMK. With the support of several smaller allied parties, Vijay was sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 May 2026.
Chandrasekaran Joseph Vijay was born on 22 June 1974 in Madras, at the Government Women and Children’s Hospital in Egmore. His father, Chandrasekaran, is a film director and his mother, Shoba, is a playback singer and vocalist. His father is a lapsed Catholic and his mother is an adherent of Hinduism. Vijay had a sister, Vidhya, who died when she was two years old. Vijay did his schooling initially at Fathima school, Kodambakkam and later at Balalok school, Virugambakkam. He pursued a bachelor's degree in visual communication from Loyola College, but dropped out early to focus on his acting career.
Vijay made his debut as a child actor in the Tamil film Vetri, produced by P. S. Veerappa in 1984. He then performed in Kudumbam (1984), Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985), Vasantha Raagam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987) and Ithu Engal Neethi (1988), which were all directed by his father. Vijay played the lead role for the first time in Naalaiya Theerpu at the age of 18 in 1992. The film failed at the box office, with Vijay receiving bitter criticism for his looks and performance. Chandrasekhar decided then to cast him alongside an established hero Vijayakanth, who agreed to the project in Senthoorapandi (1993). The film was a hit, boosting Vijay's popularity with the masses. In 1994, Rasigan directed again by his father, Vijay became popular as "Ilaya Thalapathy" (Young Commander). He also made his debut as a singer. In 1995, the romantic action Deva, was a box office hit and completed the 100-day run in cinema halls. Vijay took leading roles in films such as Rajavin Parvaiyile, in which he co-starred with actor Ajith Kumar, followed by Vishnu and the romantic drama Chandralekha. In early 1996, the romantic comedy film Coimbatore Mappillai was a hit at the box office. This was followed by Poove Unakkaga, directed by Vikraman, which according to him, gave him his initial break and popularity. His subsequent films that year were Vasantha Vaasal, Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selvaa. In 1997, Vijay appeared in Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen, Love Today and Once More, and in the latter he shared the screen with veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. In Nerrukku Ner, he starred with actor Suriya's marked debut in the industry. Then, Vijay attracted the family audience through Fazil's Kadhalukku Mariyadhai. This film earned actor Vijay his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. He was awarded Kalaimaamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu for his role. In 1998, he continued to star in romantic films such as Ninaithen Vandhai, Priyamudan and Nilaave Vaa. In 1999, the romantic drama Thullatha Manamum Thullum was a blockbuster success and helped Vijay create a fan base in Kerala. Vijay won the MGR Honorary Award and Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (second prize). The next released was Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinile, and Minsara Kanna. In 2000, he appeared in his 25th film, Kannukkul Nilavu, alongside commercially successful romantic films, Kushi and Priyamaanavale. In 2001, his box office successes included Friends, Badri and Shahjahan, and in 2002, he starred in the action film Thamizhan alongside Priyanka Chopra. Later, he appeared in the romantic film Youth and the action film Bagavathi in the same year.
Vijay began 2003 with Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai. The success of his masala film Thirumalai changed his on-screen persona into an action hero. Until then, the actor had been performing in roles that were charming and comedic. Thirumalai was considered a turning point in Vijay's career. In 2004, after several delays, the film Udhaya was released. Then, Vijay appeared in Ghilli, directed by S. Dharani, alongside Trisha and Prakash Raj. The movie was a commercial success, became the first Tamil film to gross over ₹500 million at the domestic box office, and also broke the record—previously held by M. G. Ramachandran's Adimai Penn (1969)—for the most people watching the movie within the first week of its release. Following this, he performed in Madhurey. Next, Vijay starred in Perarasu's 2005 blockbuster and directorial debut film Thirupaachi. Then, Vijay had an extended cameo as a lawyer in the action film Sukran (2005). Later, he starred in the commercially successful films Sachein (2005) and Sivakasi (2005). Then, he starred in Aathi (2006). The film was an average grosser at the box office and it was a 2005 Telugu remake of Athanokkade. In 2007, the action thriller Pokkiri directed by Prabhu Deva, became one of the highest-grossing films of his career at the time. Vijay starred in the romantic thriller film Azhagiya Tamil Magan, where he portrayed a dual role for the first time in his career. He played the roles of both protagonist and antagonist. The film was commercially successful outside India. In 2008, the action comedy Kuruvi was released. In 2009, Villu and Vettaikaaran were average successes at domestic box office while continuing to be more successful overseas. Vijay continued to be one of the highest paid actors despite the moderate success of then recently released movies. In 2010, he acted in the action film Sura, which was his 50th film as an actor. Vijay starred in the romantic comedy Kaavalan (2011), directed by Siddique which received positive response and a box office collection of ₹102 crore worldwide. The film was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Kaavalan was a commercial success in China. His next film was the action film Velayudham, directed by M. Raja which released during Diwali and became one of the top-grossing films of 2011.
In 2012, Vijay starred in the commercially successful Nanban, a remake of successful Hindi film 3 Idiots. Later, he acted in the action thriller Thuppakki, directed by A. R. Murugadoss. The film became the third Tamil film to gross more than ₹100 crore domestically and became the most successful film of Vijay's career at the time, grossing over ₹121 crore. His next film Thalaivaa, directed by A. L. Vijay, was released in August 2013 to mixed reviews. In 2014, he acted in Jilla which ended up as a box office hit. Vijay then starred in the action thriller Kaththi, where he portrayed another dual role. The film received positive reviews and collected ₹130 crore at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films in 2014. In 2015, he starred in the fantasy film Puli, directed by Chimbu Deven, which received mixed to poor reviews from critics. Despite the reviews, the film was one of the highest-grossing films of 2015. In April 2016, the action-thriller Theri directed by Atlee released to mixed reviews. It became the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2016, grossing over ₹150 crore. In 2017, the masala film Bairavaa was released, again to mixed reviews. In 2017, the action thriller Mersal released, which became a commercial success, becoming the first of Vijay's films to gross over ₹250 crore. The film won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the National Film Awards UK in 2018 with Vijay earning a nomination for the best supporting actor. The film was amongst the few films of Vijay to be released in Japan and China with further screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea. In 2018, Vijay acted in the political film Sarkar, which entered the 100 Crore Club within two days. The film was released in 80 countries and became his second ever film to gross over ₹250 crore. Vijay acted in a football action film Bigil, which released in 2019. While the film received mixed reviews from critics, Vijay was praised for the portrayal of his character and the film was a commercial success, earning more than ₹300 crore. It was also the first Tamil film to be released in Egypt and Jordan. In 2021, his next film Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj was released. Upon release, it received mixed to positive reviews from the critics. The film collected over ₹300 crore worldwide and was declared a box office success. His next film was the dark comedy action film Beast, which received mixed reviews from critics. The film performed well in overseas box office and was commercially successful, collecting more than ₹300 crore worldwide. It became one of the most viewed films on Netflix globally in 2022.
In 2023, Vijay was seen in the action drama film Varisu directed by Vamshi Paidipally. The film was a commercial success, grossing over ₹300 crore at the box office. His next release of 2023 was the action thriller Leo. It received mixed reviews from critics, but went on to become a commercially successful film and emerged as one of the highest grossing Indian films of the year with a gross more than ₹600 crore. His action thriller film The Greatest of All Time opened to mixed reviews, but had a theatrical revenue of more than ₹450 crore. In February 2024, Vijay announced that he would do only one more film, later titled Jana Nayagan. The film is reportedly inspired by the Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari. The film was scheduled for release on 9 January 2026, but was delayed due to censorship issues. It was subsequently leaked on piracy websites on 9 April 2026, prior to its official theatrical release. Ultimately, Jana Nayagan (2026) opened in theatres on 23 July. Jana Nayagan saw a bumper opening despite mixed reviews, as fans thronged theatres to catch Vijay "one last time" on the big screen. It also underperformed at the box office due to the film's leak before its release, though it emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2026, one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2026, and one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of all time.
