Vijay’s stupendous journey over the years

Ilayathalapathy Vijay has travelled a long way since he made his debut way back in 1992 with the film Naalaya Theerpu. His entry in to mainstream films was a relatively easier one through the aid of his father, the famous producer S.A.Chandrasekhar. Vijay started off by playing lead roles in commercial flicks which was well received by the people in general. His boyish looks and youthful exuberance on screen made him a household name soon enough.

After establishing himself in the first two years, Vijay went on to try his hand at different story-lines across varied genres. His performance in the romantic comedy filmCoimbatore Mappillai is still remembered by many. But it was Poove Unakkaga, which was helmed by experienced campaigner Vikraman that fetched him laurels and catapulted Vijay into stardom. Post his commercial success and mass recognition, he majorly alternated between romantic dramas and action flicks. Vijay also holds the prestigious distinction of being cast alongside the legendary Sivaji Ganesan in the commercial movie Once More, he further went on to feature in many such commercial blockbusters such as Love Today, Nerukku Ner, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Ninaithaen Vandhai, Thulladha Manamum Thullum etc.

Vijay’s performance in Kushi still remains fresh in everyone’s memory and the chemistry between him and Jyothika is an evergreen one. He went on to achieve further commercial success by starring in blockbusters such as Friends, Shahjahan, Thamizhan, Youth and Bagavathi. Well, all actors have been on the receiving end from the critics at some point in their career and the case of Ilayathalapathy Vijay was no different. It is virtually impossible to bypass through the hawk eye of critics. Vijay was accused of being too repetitive and stereotypical in his portrayal of roles on the big screen and his acting prowress was also questioned. The string of failures that his films faced during the 2000’s only further complicated his situation of being in turbulent times.

It is to be noted that Vijay’s fluctuating fortunes seemed to steady up from time to time with films such as Thirumalai, Ghilli, Sivakasi, Pokkiri but intermittent flops held him on a tight rope. The latter part of the 2000’s was one to be forgotten for Vijay and his loyal fans, his first dual role venture Azhagiya Thamizh Magan was a mediocre affair inspite of its extravagant promotions and generated hype. The following period witnessed a lull in the form of disastrous faring of his big budget movies Sura, Vettaikaran and Kuruvi.

Ilayathalapathy Vijay then redeemed himself by means of choosing scripts in a wise manner and fully understanding the pulse of the audience. Vijay hit a purple patch as he starred in blockbuster flicks Kaavalan, Velayudham, Nanban and silenced critics to a certain extent. Both Kaavalan and Nanban were remakes of other region films and they received positive responses from fans and critics alike, owing to their excellent story-lines and fine acting performances. Vijay’s maturity over the ages seemed evident by virtue of his on screen excellence and immaculate choice of story-lines. He has been working under big time directors ever since and has churned out huge commercial hits in the form of Thuppaki, Thalaivaa and Jilla. Furthermore, Thuppaki belongs to the elite club of movies which crossed 100 crores in the box office collections. Vijay’s current movie is under filming and is being directed by ace director A.R.Murugadoss and also there is another film on the pipeline with Chimbudevan. Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s long stint in Kollywood as yet has been nothing short of scintillating, he has constantly been witness to see-saw fortunes. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for Vijay amidst the changing trend of tamil cinema.

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