Happy Birthday Thalapathy Vijay: 9 lesser-known facts about highest-paid actor in India

This year, on February 2, Thalapathy Vijay established Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam, a political party in Tamil Nadu. The actor announced that he will neither run in the Lok Sabha Elections or support other parties. This suggests his party is targeting the 2026 Assembly Elections. Vijay is a Tamil film legend and his films are often the most profitable. Here are some more interesting facts about the actor-turned-politician.

His real name is Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar. Vijay appeared in five films as a child artist from 1984 to 1998, all directed by his father, SA Chandrasekhar. 

Tamil superstar Vijay, who is now one of the top Indian actors has also appeared as a kid artist in the Rajinikanth film Naan Sivappu Manithan. 

Vijay's fame is not restricted to Tamil Nadu; the actor has a large fan base in the nearby state of Kerala as well. 

Tamil star Vijay has received the Kalaimaamani Award, one of Tamil Nadu's top artistic distinctions. 

Vijay had a sister named Vidhya, who died when she was just two years old. He is so close to his sister that his production house, VV Productions, which stands for Vidhya-Vijay Productions, includes her name.

2009 the actor founded Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a fan group dedicated to charity efforts. The group even backed the AIADMK coalition in the 2011 state elections. 

Tamil star Vijay is married to Sangeetha Sornalingam, whom he met in the United Kingdom. They have two children: Sanjay, who featured briefly with his father in Vettaikaaran, and Divya, who appeared in her father's Theri.

Vijay visited Tom Cruise's beach house and was so amazed that he snapped a picture and constructed a copy in Neelankarai. 
 

He has played the character 'Vijay' in his cinematic career 13 times. Apart from Tamil films, Thalapathy has appeared in a song sequence in Akshay Kumar's Rowdy Rathore (2011).