The last time I watched a Vijay movie back home, I heard him nonchalantly utter the words – “I am waiting” and the whole theatre erupted, creating a huge frenzy not just among his boisterous, most ardent and zealous fans but also among those quiet movie watchers who just went about soaking in that atmosphere. Though Vijay had a couple more releases after Thuppaki, that dialogue does still stand out. I guess you wouldn’t disagree with me. It isn’t ingratiation that the actor-director duo that gave us an enthralling experience in ‘Thuppaki’ is joining hands to give us another weapon. As you are reading this right now, Team ‘Kaththi’ would be basking in the release of Vijay’s first look in this flick and these days it isn’t a coincidence that teasers & trailers of huge films see daylight on the birthdays of the lead protagonists.

What makes this ‘Young Turk’ click? Some may argue that his dance moves distinguish him from the rest of the pack. While some vouch for his star appeal, some envy his boy-next-door image. Then there are some who dispassionately debate his father’s presence to boost his career. From a neutral person’s perspective, why shouldn’t one’s father help his son? Isn’t that what every living creature does to its offspring? And if a father helping his son guarantees success, shouldn’t all those senior Czars in the movie industry have a flag-bearing scion? Let’s stop plodding on such a fine-line and end up creating a flutter. On a thoughtful note, don’t you think that it definitely takes something to stand back after defeat knocks you down? As Rocky Balboa was once famously quoted saying “It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” Vijay has indeed ascertained that he can bounce back after lows and that trenches don’t often last long. When he endured a wretched patch towards the end of last decade, he ended that patch with ‘Kaavalan’, got the cash registers ringing with ‘Velayudham’, depicted profound friendship through ‘Nanban’ and came out all guns blazing with ‘Thuppaki’. Just when one thought that controversy-delineated ‘Thalaivaa’ had broken his run at the box-office, he captured lost ground with ‘Jilla’.

Vijay
A lot of movie stars either end up as star campaigners for the political parties or feel contented staying away from politics. But for someone who wants to land a foot in politics, one must admit that Vijay has earned quite a few adversaries. But wait!!! Didn’t Winston Churchill once say “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” And actors making it big in politics aren’t something that the Tamil movie industry is not used to. The icing on the cake was when India’s ‘Man of the Moment’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared Vijay with Salman Khan. But time will tell if Vijay’s ambitions bear fruit and not just end up as a flash in the pan. Let’s hope and wish that his motives end up giving something back to the society that has provided him the stardom that many can just fantasize about.

Getting back to Vijay’s forte, his upcoming flick has created the expectation that has been synonymous with all his erstwhile movies and going by his career graph this fever isn’t heading towards an abrupt finale. Going by the news that is making rounds in the industry, Kannada star Sudeep could figure in one of Vijay’s movies to be directed by Chimbudevan and the dream girl of yesteryears Sridevi might be seen in a Tamil flick after a long time.

Here’s wishing our very own Ilayathalapathy a fantastic fortieth b’day (you gotta be kidding me, he doesn’t look 40. Does he???). Team PipingHotViews raises a toast to this ever-young-looking actor and wishes him all the very best for his upcoming venture ‘Kaththi’ and the ones to follow after that.