Vijay Sethupathi, who strengthened his hold in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada as well as Hindi cinema, is 47 years old today. There was a time when Vijay Sethupathi worked in a cement factory in poverty, but today Vijay Sethupathi has set an earning record not only in India but also in China. His film Maharaja (2024) became the second highest-grossing Indian film after Dangal in China, beating Prabhas’ Baahubali 2.
Alongside the hero, Vijay played a powerful role as a villain in Shahrukh’s film Jawan, for which he received a remuneration of Rs 21 crore. With this, Vijay has also made a place in the list of India’s highest paid villains.
Today on Vijay Sethupathi’s 47th birthday, read 7 untold and interesting stories related to his life.
Story #1 Birth of Vijay
Vijay was born on January 16, 1978. His real name is Vijay Gurunath Sethupathi. His early education took place in Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. Here he studied till class six and after that his family moved to Chennai. Here he received his education from MGR Higher Secondary School and Little Angel Higher Secondary School.
Story No. 2 were rejected at the first audition, then the first film won 3 national awards
Vijay Sethupathi was rejected in his very first film. The actor auditioned for the film Nammavar in 1994, when he was 16 years old. He was rejected because of his small size. After that, Vijay played small roles in TV serials and many films. After hard work, in 2010, Vijay got a chance to work as a lead actor at the age of 28 and he was offered the lead role in the film ‘Thenmerku Paruvakaatru’. This film was released in 2010 and won three national awards. One of these awards was for Best Tamil Feature Film.
Story #3 When he refused to go to the awards ceremony under the pretext of not having any clothes.
It is no secret to anyone that Vijay Sethupathi stays away from the limelight. He once refused to attend an awards ceremony, simply saying he had no clothes to wear.
It’s 2021 Vijay Sethupathi’s film Kadaiisi Vivasayi has been released. The film was highly appreciated by critics and also won 2 national awards.
He has also received nominations in numerous award shows. At that time, Anupama Chopra was part of the Film Critics Guild…she felt that Vijay Sethupathi should also be part of the award, that’s why she sent an invitation message to Vijay. In response to this, a voice note of Vijay was found… in which Vijay had said… Madam, I can’t come, I don’t have any clothes.
To clarify this, Vijay said: I am not going to assign functions, that’s why I had to say this.
Story #4 Son named after childhood friend
Vijay Sethupathi is also considered as the friend of friends. Vijay had a special friend named Surya in his childhood. He died very young. After this, Vijay named his son Surya in memory of his friend. She worked with Vijay in the film Naanum Rowdy Dhan released in 2015. After that, he was also seen in another Sethupathi film, Sindhubadh (2019).
Story #5 Love happened through online chat
When this incident happened, Vijay was working as a small-time accountant in Dubai. Vijay’s first conversation with Jessie took place via the Internet. Vijay messaged Jessie, and then their conversation progressed. Later, both of them met for the first time through a mutual friend. The discussions between the two on the Internet intensified so much that they both fell in love with each other. Vijay Sethupathi himself had said in an interview that “we became friends without even seeing each other”. Vijay married Jessie in 2006. After that, they both became parents to two children – son Surya and daughter Shreeja.
Story #6: Actors cried themselves after seeing someone cry in movies.
Vijay, who played the touching role of a father in the film Maharaja, himself used to cry as a child when he saw someone crying in the film. This is the reason why Vijay’s mother never took him to the theater to watch films in his childhood, because whenever Vijay saw someone crying on the screen, he himself would start crying . Even after completing his graduation, Vijay would occasionally go to the theater to watch films. Vijay’s interest in cinema grew when he started watching films on television at home. Vijay was not very good in his studies during school hours. He also had no interest in sports and extracurricular activities. His school friends made fun of his short stature.
Story #7 When Vijay said I’m not simple
Vijay is also known for his simplicity. People become fans of his simple life. While chatting with Bollywood Hungama during the promotion of the film Merry Christmas, one of Vijay’s fans told him that she was a fan of his simplicity.
In response to what Vijay had said:
People say I’m simple, but that’s not true. I only wear what I feel comfortable with. The clothes I wear are quite expensive.
R Madhavan had said: Vijay is the next Kamal Haasan
R Madhavan was also seen with Vijay in the film Vikram Vedha. After working with him, Madhavan was so impressed that he called Vijay the next Kamal Haasan.
While sharing his experience of working with Vijay in an interview, Madhavan had said that we have never worked together before with Vikram Vedha. Our training and rehearsals for the film also took place separately. When we met on the first day of shooting, our scene featured a mutual fight between police officer Vikram and criminal Vedha. Even as actors, in the beginning the attitude between us was to see who is better, but the whole thing didn’t last more than 40-45 minutes. After the take, when we sat down and started talking, Vijay told me that he really liked my work.
Maharaja is the second highest-grossing Indian film in China.
Vijay Sethupathi’s film Maharaja has become the highest-grossing Indian film in China since 2018. Chinese audiences love the film very much. The film also broke the records of Bahubali 2. In China, the film Maharaja is releasing in 40,000 screens on November 29, 2024.