CAREER

                                           
                                                           CAREER

1992–1996

                                                   

                     After appearing as child artist in the films directed by his father, Vijay made his acting debut as lead actor under the age of eighteen with Naalaya Theerpu (1992) which did not do well. Vijay appeared alongside Vijayakanth in Sendhoorapandi (1993) which did well at the box-office. In 1994, he appeared in Rasigan which, despite earning criticism for its sexual content, became a successful venture. He had lead roles in films like Deva, and Rajavin Parvaiyile where he co-starred with another actor Ajith Kumar, who played a supporting role. He then acted in the romantic comedy Vishnu and romantic tragedy Chandralekha later. In early 1995, he starred in Coimbatore Mappillai a romantic comedy film.

1996–2003

                               

                

                    Vijay's next film was the Vikraman directed Poove Unakkaga which was his first commercial success and made him a recognizable star. Vijay's tenth film Vasantha Vasal was followed by the action movies Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selva and the romantic film Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen. In 1997 Vijay acted in Love Today and Once More, where he co-starred with the Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan and actress Simran, and in the Mani Ratnam produced movie Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth. Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, directed by Fazil, earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 1998, Vijay worked in the movies Ninaithen Vandhai and Priyamudan and Nilaave Vaa. In 1999 Vijay acted in Thulladha Manamum Thullum with Simran, which earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film.This was followed by Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinileand the K.S.Ravikumar directed Minsara Kanna.

From the start of the new millennium Vijay began to commit to entertaining and commercial ventures, which marked a change in trend. In 2000 he performed in Kannukkul Nilavu, and two romantic movies Kushi and Priyamanavale. His 2001 comedy-drama film Friends was directed by Siddique and featured him in the leading role alongside Suriya. Vijay also worked in Badri, an action film remake of the Telugu film Thammudu, and the romantic movie Shahjahan. In 2002, he starred in the action film Thamizhan alongsidePriyanka Chopra, making her acting debut before establishing herself as a leading Bollywood actress. The movie was a box office hit.^[9][10] Later, he featured in the romantic filmYouth and action film Bagavathi. Vijay began 2003 with the films Vaseegara and Pudhiya Geethai.

2003–2007

                               

                

                    In late 2003, Vijay transformed from a romantic hero to an action hero with the action-romance flick,Thirumalai, co-starring Jyothika, directed by debutant Ramana and produced by K.Balachander's Kavithalaya Productions, which featured him in a different way. Thirumalai was considered a turning point in Vijay's career. Udhaya, which began filming in 2002 but as delayed, was finally released in early 2004. Ghilli, a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu was released next in 2004, and completed 200 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu. Directed by S. Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam, it co-starred Trisha and Prakash Raj.

It was followed by Madhurey, directed by Ramana Madhesh. In 2005, he starred in the Perarasu directed action film Thirupaachi, followed by a guest appearance in Sukran, the romantic comedy Sachien co-starring Genelia D'Souza directed by John Mahendran, and Sivakasi starring Asin, again directed by Perarasu. Vijay's next film, Aadhi, was produced by his father S. A. Chandrasekhar and directed by Ramana, released in 2006. In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, a remake of the Telugu film of the same name. Directed by Prabhu Deva, it became the third highest grossing Tamil film of 2007. Vijay's character in the film, a reprisal of Mahesh Babu's role in the original, was well received by critics.

2007–2010

                               

                    In late 2007, Vijay starred in the romantic psychological thriller film Azhagiya Tamil Magan directed by Bharathan in which he played the roles as both the antagonist and protagonist. The film was only a moderate success at the box office. In 2008, he starred in the action film Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction, and produced by Red Giant Movies. The year 2009 commenced with the action film Villu, in which Vijay teamed up with Prabhu Deva (from Pokkiri). His next film Vettaikaaran, directed by Babusivan and produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures became one of the highest grossing Tamil film of 2009. In 2010, he acted in his 50th film,Sura, also distributed bySun Pictures.

2011–present

                                         

ILAYATHALAPATHY

            In early 2011 Vijay joined up with director Siddique again, for the romantic comedy Kaavalan, a Tamil remake of the Malayalam filmBodyguard (also co-starring Asin). It received positive responses from both viewers and critics. The movie was screened at theShanghai International Film Festival in China.^[16] During Diwali the same year, his next film, the action film Velayudham directed by M. Raja and produced by Venu Ravichandran was released. Velayudham became one of the top-grossing films of 2011.

2012

        

                    Vijay's next release was Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots, where he played the role which was played by Aamir Khan in the original. Directed by S. Shankar, it was released during the Pongal weekend of 2012 and emerged a major financial success. Vijay's performance in the film was praised by critics, including leading Indian actor Kamal Haasan. Nanban went on to complete 100 days theatrical run. He made a special appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore starring Akshay Kumar, directed byPrabhu Deva.

2012:

                        

                     Vijay's next film, the action thriller Thuppakki, directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by S. Dhanu, was released at Diwali 2012 to mostly positive reviews. The film became the third Tamil film to enter the ₹1 billion (US$15 million) club after Sivaji (2007), Enthiran (2010). His next film Thalaivaa, directed by A. L. Vijay, was released on 9 August 2013 worldwide to positive reviews from critics and audience.His next film, Jilla, co-starring Kajal Aggarwal and Mohanlal, and directed by R. T. Neason, was released on a Pongal weekend in 2014 to positive reviews from critics and audience and end up as box office hit due to popularity of both stars

2014:

               Vijay again worked with AR Murugadoss in the action drama Kaththi, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Neil Nitin Mukesh and produced by Ayngaran International, which was released on Diwali 2014 to mostly positive reviews.^[29] It was the highest grossing Tamil film of 2014.^[30] In 2015, the fantasy film Puli was released. 

2016:

 

                                   

                   His next film, the action thriller film Theri, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Amy Jackson and Produced by S. Dhanu got released in April 2016 to positive reviews and became one of the highest grossing Tamil film of 2016. 

UPCOMING:

                  

                He is currently acting on his 60th film titled, Bairavaa, directed by Bharathan and produced by Vijaya Productions.