From Child Actor to Chief Minister: Vijay's Unprecedented Rise in Tamil Nadu
In 1984, a 10-year-old boy was paid Rs 500 for a small role in his father's black-and-white film, Vetri. Forty-two years later, that boy — known across India as 'Thalapathy' Vijay — stood on a stage in Chennai and took the oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, after the party he founded just two years earlier became the first non-Dravidian outfit to lead the state in 59 years.
Vijay was born to filmmaker S.A. Chandrasekhar and playback singer Shoba Chandrasekhar. After Vetri, he appeared in a handful of other films directed by his father through the 1980s, including Kudumbam, Naan Sigappu Manithan, Vasantha Raagam, Sattam Oru Vilayaattu and Ithu Engal Neethi. These were modest beginnings, with Vijay credited in small parts while his father built a career as a commercial filmmaker known for action dramas.
He stepped into a lead role for the first time in 1992, in Naalaiya Theerpu, again directed by his father. The film did not do well, and Vijay faced criticism over his look and performance. His father responded by pairing him opposite established star Vijayakanth in Senthoorapandi the following year, which turned out to be a hit and gave Vijay his first real foothold with audiences. The real shift in his image came with Rasigan in 1994, after which fans began calling him 'Ilaya Thalapathy', meaning young commander.
Through the rest of the 1990s, Vijay built a following as a romantic lead with films such as Poove Unakkaga, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Thullatha Manamum Thullum and Kushi. In the early 2000s, his on-screen identity shifted decisively. Thirumalai in 2003 marked a move toward a harder, action-driven persona, and Ghilli in 2004 became a turning point, transforming him from a popular hero into a mass entertainer. Pokkiri in 2007 pushed his stardom further, placing him among the top tier of Tamil cinema alongside contemporaries like Ajith Kumar and Rajinikanth.
From the 2010s onward, Vijay's films grew in scale and box office ambition, with titles such as Thuppakki, Kaththi, Theri, Mersal, Sarkar, Bigil, Master and Leo regularly featuring among the highest-grossing Tamil releases. Alongside his film career, he built a large organised fan base, formalised in 2009 into a welfare body called Vijay Makkal Iyakkam.
The political turn became official on February 2, 2024, when Vijay announced the formation of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), stating that the party would contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly election. He converted his fan club network into the new party's organisational base. His final film as a lead actor, Jana Nayagan, was positioned as a cinematic farewell, though its release has been delayed by a prolonged dispute with the Central Board of Film Certification over its content.
The election, held on April 23, recorded the highest voter turnout in the state's history. When results were declared on May 4, TVK had emerged as the single largest party, winning 108 of 234 seats in its first electoral outing. Vijay himself won both seats he contested — Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East — while the sitting Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, lost his own seat in Kolathur. TVK fell ten seats short of a majority, leading to several days of negotiations before it secured support from independent legislators and smaller parties, allowing Vijay to stake claim and form a government.
