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1984–2003: Child actor and transition into lead roles
At the age of 10, Vijay started his film career as a child actor in the film Vetri (1984) and then performed as child actor in films such as Kudumbam (1984), Vasantha Raagam (1986), Sattam Oru Vilayaattu (1987) and Ithu Engal Neethi (1988). He also performed as child actor in Naan Sigappu Manithan (1985) co-starring Rajinikanth as lead actor. Vijay acted in two old visual formats of cinema such as Eastmancolor in 80s and Color film from 90s.

After he performed as a child artist in the films directed by his father, Vijay played lead roles at the age of 18 from Naalaiya Theerpu (1992). Vijay appeared alongside Vijayakanth in Sendhoorapandi (1993), which performed well only to a certain extent at the box office. In 1994, his film Rasigan was released, which can be deemed as his first success but not acclaimed by critics. This was the first film in which Vijay was credited with the prefix Ilaya Thalapathy (young commander), an epithet by which he became popularly known among fans and the media for the rest of his career. He had lead roles in films such as Deva and Rajavin Parvaiyile, wherein the latter he co-starred with actor Ajith Kumar. In the film Deva, Vijay performed risky stunts and it was a box office success. He then acted in the successful romantic comedy Vishnu. In the film Vishnu, Vijay in his intro scene wore the wardrobe with ear stud similar to that of Will smith's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. While romantic tragedy Chandralekha performed mediocre at the box office. In early 1995, he starred in the C. Ranganathan directed Coimbatore Mappillai a romantic comedy film. Comibatore Mappillai was a successful venture, though not acclaimed by critics.

By the mid 1990s, Vijay established himself as a romantic hero, Almost many films were praised by critics for his unique style of performances. Some of which, turned out to be cult-classic films.

In 1996, Vijay performed in the Vikraman-directed Poove Unakkaga, which became his first critically acclaimed performance as well as the breakthrough in Vijay's career and made him a recognizable star. Vijay's tenth film Vasantha Vasal was followed by the successful action films Maanbumigu Maanavan and Selva. In 1997, Vijay acted in successful ventures Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen in which, he has a tussle of love war with a head-weight woman, and it received positive response from critics, and as a sacrificial-lover in Love Today, in which he portrays the character of blind folded love with a woman and later, sacrifices his love due to the agony faced, was applauded by the audiences, and he was also praised for his performance as a businessman who was tracked by a revenge seeking woman in Once More, where he co-starred with veteran Tamil film actor Sivaji Ganesan and debutant actress Simran. He also starred in the Mani Ratnam-produced successful family-drama movie Nerukku Ner, directed by Vasanth co-starring debutant Suriya, as the story revolves among the tussle between the in-laws, and the film received critical acclaim. He then, performed as a college student in Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, directed by Fazil, earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. In 1998, Vijay worked in the successful movies as a person caught up in triangle-love in Ninaithen Vandhai and a hyper-possessive lover in Priyamudan both were critically acclaimed in which, New Straits Times Malaysian magazine in 1998 lauded Vijay's diverse role performance as an anti-hero in Priyamudan, calling it a love story with a difference. India Today listed Priyamudan as one of the landmark films of Vijay as a performer. He then performed as a Christian youth-falling-in-love with a Hindu girl in Nilaave Vaa. In 1999, Vijay acted in debutant Ezhil's Thulladha Manamum Thullum as a passionate singer, with Simran, which ran for more than 200 days at the Tamil Nadu box office and earned Vijay a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film. This was followed by successful films Endrendrum Kadhal, Nenjinile as a hitman for a gangster and Minsara Kanna.

From 2000, Vijay began to commit to entertaining ventures, which marked a change in trend. In 2000, he performed as a musician-suffering-from-amnesia in Kannukkul Nilavu, a successful Vijay's 25th film directed by Fazil again, and two commercially successful romantic movies as an egoistic-lover in Kushi, and a NRI husband with non-Indian-cultural-shades in Priyamaanavale. His next success in 2001 was the comedy-drama film Friends was directed by Siddique and featured him in the leading role alongside Suriya again. Then, Vijay performed in successful films Badri as a boxer, and the romantic-tragedy film Shahjahan as a love-doctor. In 2002, he starred in the commercially successful action film Thamizhan as a lawyer alongside Hindi actress Priyanka Chopra. Later, he featured in the successful films with romantic film Youth as a cook and the action film Bagavathi as an avenger. Vijay began 2003 with the comedy film Vaseegara and the supernatural film Pudhiya Geethai.

2003–2011: Star status in Tamil cinema
In late 2003, Vijay starred in 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 production in 1998 and filming in 2002, but was 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. Ghilli was the first Tamil film of all time to gross over ₹500 million, or ₹50 crore, in the domestic box office. For almost five years, Rajinikanth's Padayappa (1999), which collected a then record over ₹30 crore, was regarded as the benchmark for the Tamil film industry with regards to box-office numbers. Ghilli also set the record for becoming the highest grossing non-Malayalam film in Kerala at the time, and it reportedly performed greater than mainstream Malayalam movies in the state. The film grossed nearly $500,000 in the Malaysian market, which made it the first non-MGR or non-Rajinikanth film to achieve this. Another record that Ghilli broke was M. G. Ramachandran's Adimai Penn (1969) record for the most people seeing a movie in the first week of its release. The scene in which Velu (Vijay) briefly uses Dhanalakshmi (Trisha) as a hostage when surrounded by Muthupandi (Raj) was parodied by Shah Rukh Khan with Deepika Padukone in the Bollywood film Chennai Express (2013). Ghilli was followed by commercially successful films Madhurey, directed by Ramana Madhesh and debutant Perarasu's Thirupaachi in 2005. He then, played a guest appearance in his father's direction Sukran. In late 2005, he starred in two commercially successful films the romantic comedy Sachien, co-starring Genelia D'Souza, directed by John Mahendran, and the action film Sivakasi, co-starring Asin, again directed by Perarasu. Vijay's next film Aathi, the remake of Telugu film Athanokkade, was released in early 2006. It is produced by his father S. A. Chandrasekhar and again directed by Ramana performed average at the box office. In early 2007, Vijay starred in the gangster film Pokkiri, a remake of the Telugu film of the same name, directed by Prabhu Deva. Pokkiri became the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2007, and became the first Tamil film of all-time to complete a 100-day theatrical run in Kerala. Pokkiri was also one of the highest grossing film in Vijay's career at that time. In late 2007, Vijay starred in the romantic thriller film Azhagiya Tamil Magan, directed by Bharathan, who made his directional debut with this film. Vijay played a dual role for the first time in his career. He played the roles of both the antagonist and protagonist. The film was only a moderate success at the box office. Vijay was honoured with people's choice Superstar award in 2008 Vijay TV awards ceremony. Azhagiya Tamil Magan was internationally acclaimed as it was reviewed by BBC UK, mentioning the film has the right mix of romance and action. Azhagiya Tamil Magan collected $1.043 million overseas, a top grosser at overseas box office in 2007. In 2008, he starred in the action comedy film Kuruvi, again under Dharani's direction, and produced by Red Giant Movies. Kuruvi was the highest grossing Tamil film of 2008 in United Kingdom at that time. The year 2009 commenced with the neo-noir action film Villu, in which Vijay teamed up again with Prabhu Deva and played another dual role. Villu received mediocre reviews from critics. His next film Vettaikaaran, directed by Babusivan and produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2009. Barring commercially successful Vettaikaaran (2009), all of his subsequent releases from Azhagiya Tamil Magan, Kuruvi and Villu were average successes; all three films were more successful overseas than domestically setting him a market overseas. In 2010, he acted in the action comedy film Sura, also distributed by Sun Pictures. This was Vijay's 50th film. Sura turned out to be a budget-only-recovery-film and low profitable with its Hindi satellite rights being sold. However, Sura held the highest TRP in Sony Max. In early 2011, Vijay joined up with director Siddique again, for the romantic comedy Kaavalan, a Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard. It received positive responses from both viewers and critics and was a commercial success, with a box office collection of ₹102 crore worldwide. Kaavalan was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in China. Kaavalan received admiring reviews from Chinese audiences, and was a commercial success in China. 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. Velayudham was also considered a financial success. Vijay again experimented superhero for the third time in Velayudham, in which his costume and fighting style had resemblances to the Assassin's Creed franchise with critics cited, he was apt in that role. Velayudham became popular and a critical success among Japanese audiences.

2012–present: Increased critical and commercial success globally
Vijay's next release was Nanban, the Tamil remake of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots, directed by S. Shankar, it was released during the Pongal weekend of 2012 and emerged a major financial success. Nanban was screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia. 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. Indian Express reported the film Nanban grossed ₹150 crore at the box office. He made a special cameo song appearance in the 2012 Bollywood film Rowdy Rathore, directed by Prabhu Deva. Vijay's 54th film, the action thriller Thuppakki, directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by S. Dhanu, was released on Diwali 2012 to mixed reviews. The film became the third Tamil film to enter the inr 1000000000 club domestically after Sivaji (2007) and Enthiran (2010). Thuppakki became the highest-grossing film of Vijay's career at the time, and the first of his films to gross over ₹1,800,000,000. Thuppakki was screened at the Russian film festival. His next film Thalaivaa, directed by A. L. Vijay, was released on 9 August 2013 worldwide to mixed reports, and had a delayed release in Tamil Nadu. Thalaivaa was a overseas success. His 56th film Jilla, co-starring Kajal Aggarwal and Mohanlal, and directed by R. T. Neason, was released on a Pongal weekend in 2014 and ended up as a box office hit. Vijay again worked with AR Murugadoss in the action thriller 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. He played dual roles as a criminal-minded thief and an idealist. The Los Angeles Times called Kaththi a "success in style". Kaththi collected ₹150 crore at the box office. It was the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2014. In 2015, the fairy tale fantasy film Puli was released. Chimbu Deven was reported to be working on a "fantasy film set in contemporary times" in January 2011 for UTV Motion Pictures, The film was tentatively titled as Maareesan was supposed to start filming in late 2011, however, in October 2011, UTV Motion Pictures left the project citing the escalating budget and Aascar Films replaced them as producers. The project later collapsed, though during the production of Deven's other films. In late 2013, Deven restarted preliminary work on the fantasy film and narrated the script to Vijay, who expressed interest in being a part of the project. Subsequently, the project found producers in P. T. Selvakumar, Vijay's press relations officer, and Shibu of Thameen Films, who have previously distributed several of Vijay's films across Kerala. The two producers came together to form a new production house SKT Films and announced that production would begin after the completion of Vijay's casting in Murugadoss' Kaththi. Puli received mixed reviews from critics, though Vijay was praised for venturing into a new genre. Puli collected ₹150 crore worldwide in its entire run. Since director Deven is a cartoonist, The film's half-demon theme was loosely based on Japanese hit anime manga series Inuyasha, similar to which, Vijay played a "Tiger-demon" with tiger's teeth and blue eyes. The Sydney Morning Herald stated Vijay excels as a "Tiger-demon" in the film. IB Times reported Puli was successful in foreign markets and it is regarded as one of the Indian films that took the standard to international level.

In September 2014, Kalaipuli S. Thanu signed on to finance a project directed by Atlee, which would star Vijay. Several titles for the film were considered, before the makers finalised Theri in late November 2015. In the same month, it was revealed that the film was "70% complete". Action scenes, choreographed by Dhilip Subbarayan were filmed throughout the month, though the shoot was disrupted by the heavy flooding in Chennai. Hollywood action choreographer Kaloyan Vodenicharov worked with the team in early December 2015 to help shoot the climax portions for the film, however, poor climatic conditions in China meant that the team had to abandon their idea of filming sequences there and instead opted to shoot in Bangkok. Sets were erected in a factory in Chennai to shoot the climax scenes, with stunt choreographer Vodenicharov recruited to help train artistes and film the sequences during December 2015. The action-thriller Theri was released in April 2016 to mixed reviews from critics and audiences, as the film showcased brutal violence with 'U' censor certificate and also with its dragged and predictable storyline. It was the second-highest-grossing Tamil film of 2016 and Vijay's second film to gross over ₹1,720,000,000. His next, the masala film Bairavaa, directed by Bharathan, co-starring Keerthy Suresh and produced by Vijaya Productions was released in January 2017. Vijay again worked with Bharathan of Azhagiya Tamil Magan fame titled Bairavaa a low-budget flick. Bairavaa received mixed reviews from audiences and critics praising the action sequences and Vijay's coin flipping style, and Bairavaa collected ₹115 crore at the box office. Forbes framed Vijay as an habitual hit-maker following his back-to-back successes of films from Bairavaa to Mersal released that same year. During the Behindwoods Gold Medals in July 2017, Vijay received the 'Samrat of South Indian Box Office medal' for his excellence in Tamil cinema since 1996. His 61st film, the action thriller Mersal, was directed by Atlee, co-starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kajal Aggarwal and Nithya Menen and produced by Sri Thenandal Films. Following the success of Atlee's Theri, he and Vijay were signed by Sri Thenandal Films for another project together in September 2016. Vijay learnt a few magic tricks in preparation for his role as a magician, learning from the magicians, Gogo Requiem from Macedonia, Raman Sharma from Canada, and Dani Belev from Bulgaria. Vijay also plays a doctor; the character, Maaran (or ₹5 doctor), was inspired from Dr. Balasubramanian, a doctor who hailed from Bodinayakkanur, Theni district, and charged ₹2 from patients. Through also playing a father during 1970s Madurai, Vijay played a triple role in total for the film. In Mersal, Vijay's epithet Ilayathalapathy (young commander) changed to Thalapathy (commander) because of his film portrayal of character Vetrimaaran using the latter title. Mersal was released 18 October 2017, coinciding with Diwali. It was both an critical and commercial success, became the first of Vijay's films to gross over ₹2.5 billion. The film was also released in Japan in four major cities Tokyo, Ebina, Osako and Nakaya. For his role in Mersal, Vijay was nominated at the National Film Awards UK in 2018 and also the film won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the National Film Awards UK. The film was Vijay's third film to be released in China after Kaavalan (2011) and Puli (2015). The film was also screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.

Despite the success of Mersal, several notions expressed in the film were opposed by various organisations: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling political party of Government of India, and the then-ruling AIADMK had objected to scenes in which the protagonist, played by Vijay, criticises the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax, and also a scene in which a character ridicules Digital India, an initiative promoted by the BJP. The party demanded that those scenes be cut from the film for future viewership, but this was seen as an attack on freedom of expression by opposing political parties and various other celebrities working in Tamil cinema. In addition, several medical associations, such as the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors' Association, condemned the film for the alleged cynical portrayal of doctors working in government-operated hospitals. Doctors working with the Indian Medical Association shared links of the film on pirated websites online, in the hope that it would cause monetary losses to the makers of the film. Following the successful ventures, Thuppakki and Kaththi, Murugadoss was confirmed to be the director of the 62nd film of Vijay's career. Revealed as Sarkar, a political film, Keerthi Suresh played the female lead role, marking her second collaboration with Vijay after Bairavaa. Following its release on Diwali 2018, the Government of Tamil Nadu accused the film-makers of Sarkar and Vijay of inciting the people by targeting the government in some scenes, as well as defaming former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa by naming the main antagonist (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) with her alleged original name Komalavalli. This led to numerous protests by AIADMK cadre at theatres where the film was screened and vandalism of Vijay banners. AIADMK accused the Sun Pictures, which is owned by the film's producer Kalanithi Maran—who is the grand nephew of the late former Chief Minister Karunanidhi of DMK—of targeting the government. Several actors, including veterans Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, supported the filmmakers by citing oppression of freedom of speech. Due to threat of lawsuits from the government, the filmmakers accepted to cut the controversial scenes and mute references of Komalavalli in the audio track. Sarkar broke several collection records and entered the 100 Crore Club within just two days. The Hollywood Reporter mentioned Vijay a man with a "swag" in the political drama film. As a result of the film's success and media attention, the Election Commission of India created awareness regarding Section 49P of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 that allows a voter to have the right to get back his/her ballot back and vote if someone else voted in that individual's name. Sarkar was his second film to gross over ₹2.5 billion. Sarkar was released in Spain. It was also screened at Grand Rex, France and in Japan.

In August 2018, there were rumours speculating that Vijay's 63rd film will be directed by Mohan Raja or Perarasu, however, it was confirmed that Atlee, who Vijay collaborated with in Theri and Mersal, will be directing the film. The film, which came to be revealed as Bigil, is a football action film. Subsequently, Vijay had undergone special training in football, with the sequences being choreographed by popular sports choreographers Aimee McDaniel and Justin Skinner. The former had choreographed for films including Pelé: Birth of a Legend, Million Dollar Arm and 13 Reasons Why, and the latter is an English footballer. Nayanthara was selected to play the female lead role, while Vivek and Anandaraj joined the film as a supporting role. This was Vivek's first collaboration with Vijay since Kuruvi (2008), and both Nayanthara's and Anandaraj's first collaboration since Villu (2009). Released in 2019, Bigil was Vijay's last film of the decade. Bigil received unfavourable poor reviews from critics, and praise for Vijay's portrayal of Rayappan as an aged-gangster was the only positive note of the film. It was a commercial success, and it collected more than ₹300 crore, becoming both the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2019—within three months of its release—and the highest-grossing film of Vijay's career. Bigil was also the first Tamil film to be released in Egypt and Jordan.

In August 2019, director Lokesh Kanagaraj tweeted that he would be working with Vijay in a film produced by Xavier Britto, who is Vijay's relative. The first look poster of the film Master, an action thriller, was released on 31 December 2019, coinciding with New Year's Eve. The highly anticipated film was originally scheduled to be released on 9 April 2020, however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After being delayed for several months, it was released on 13 January 2021 with its Tamil, Hindi (Vijay The Master) and Telugu versions in theatres. Vijay's Master received a twitter emoji ahead of its release from Twitter. Master was the highest-grossing film in United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a box office collection of $1.4 million within two days and it surpassed Hollywood releases Wonder Woman 1984 and Tenet only in UAE. Master was screened at the International film festival of Alberta, Canada. Upon release, Master received mixed reviews from viewers and critics. Master collected ₹300 crore worldwide and it was declared as a box office hit. The combined gross earnings of Mersal, Sarkar, Bigil and Master was determined to be over ₹1000 crore according to trade analysts.

In December 2020, Nelson Dilipkumar was revealed as the director of Vijay's 65th film produced by Sun Pictures, which earlier produced his blockbuster film Sarkar. The film is touted to be a gangster film and music score is composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The film's first look poster was unveiled on June 21, 2021, titled Beast. Beast symbolises the demon Rahu as it eclipses sun and the moon mercilessly; Vijay in the film has similar traits to that, and he is a shotgun-wielding beast in the film. Beast is a pan-Indian film and will release in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages in 2022.

On 26 September 2021, Vijay joined with director Vamshi Paidipally for his 66th film produced by Telugu film producer Dil Raju. The film will be shot in Tamil and Telugu languages simultaneously in 2022 and to be released as a pan-Indian film.

Presence in other regional Indian films
Vijay's first cameo Bollywood appearance in the dance song Chinta Chinta from the Hindi film Rowdy Rathore (2012), co-starring Prabhu Deva, was well received by Hindi audiences. Most of his Tamil films are dubbed into Hindi by Goldmines Telefilms and telecast on Sony Max Hindi TV channel. Vijay's film Mersal gave tough competition to Hindi films in October 2017, when it collected more than Golmaal Again and Secret Superstar in international markets. Mersal also topped in the UAE market as it collected more than ₹90 million, highest than Golmaal Again and Secret Superstar. In July 2017, Rishtey Cineplex Hindi TV channel held the Hindi movies Television Rating Point rankings #1 and #3 respectively during the Dangerous Khiladi 3 (2014) (dubbed version of Vettaikaaran) and Policewala Gunda 2 (2014) (dubbed version of Jilla) telecasts. Sony Max Hindi TV channel held the #5 spot in Hindi movies Television Rating Point during Hindi film Sura telecast. In late 2017, the Hindi version of Vijay's film Kaththi titled Khaki Aur Khiladi was released and telecast on Zee Cinema Hindi TV channel. Vijay's Sarkar was the all-time top opener in India and outran Hindi film Sanju. Sarkar was also one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2018 and broke records of many Hindi films such as Raazi, Gold and Aamir's Thugs of Hindostan. Vijay The Master held the #2 spot in TRP in Zee Cinema. Master also topped the IMDb list of top ten Indian films of 2021.

The Telugu version of Jilla included a separate track shot that featured Surekha Vani, L. B. Sriram, and Brahmanandam. Sarkar & Whistle Telugu collected ₹18 crore and ₹20 crore. Master's Telugu version collected more than ₹20 crore in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Other film attributes
Inclusive of his film acting and singing ability, Vijay had performed some difficult dance moves in the songs featured in his films. Times of India labelled Vijay's dance moves in his film songs as "energetic and effortless". Some of his popular dance moves are from his films Thirumalai, Ghilli, Azhagiya Tamilmagan, Kuruvi, Villu and Sura. Vijay's iconic signature dance step in Vaathi coming song from his film Master became viral among the masses, and it was imitated by several Indian film personalities and sportsperson. Apart from popularity in India, a Canadian boys dance group danced to the Vijay's Vaathi coming dance song. Actress Sai Pallavi in an interview revealed that she is a big fan of Vijay's dance and even tried to mimic few of his dance steps.

Reception
Vijay is among the most popular celebrities in India. Vijay's popularity has been recorded by both Google and Twitter as the most-searched-and-tweeted actor several times. He has been included several times in the Indian edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities. From 2012 to 2019, he was ranked between #28 to #47 slot. Speaking in 2019, trade analyst LM Kaushik told Firstpost, "When it comes to overseas, it's safe to say Vijay is the second biggest South Indian star next to Rajinikanth [...] $20 million lifetime earnings for a film from foreign territories is a big dream for any South Indian actor. Vijay has achieved that benchmark twice with Mersal and Sarkar. Vijay's Master earned $30 million lifetime overseas earnings due to his stardom globally. When it comes to the UK, Sri Lanka, and France, Vijay has become the biggest superstar with supreme box office numbers."

Vijay's top contemporaries from fellow South Indian industries, such as Mahesh Babu of the Telugu film industry, have not had the consistent success in overseas markets that Vijay does despite their popularity in the Western market, according to Firstpost writer Surendhar MK. A popular overseas distributor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Firstpost, "Mahesh Babu's best overseas totals range somewhere between $4 to 5 million for his films, compared to Vijay's consistently increasing box office stamina in foreign markets". In addition, the overseas distributor added, "Ajith's Vedalam, Vivegam, and Viswasam all together have only grossed close to $5 million lifetime overseas total. Ajith is considered as Vijay's biggest arch rival, and his overseas box office has not witnessed any surge in the last few years compared to the latter. Vijay's collaborations with Atlee and AR Murugadoss have significantly transformed his overseas box office might. The kind of stories he chooses and the contemporary societal issues his films deal with are also some of the reasons for his strong overseas pull."

Vijay also enjoys box office dominance in Kerala. Sarkar broke the opening day record of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in Kerala, emerging as the biggest day-one grosser in Kerala. Box office tracker Irshad, who analyses Kerala and the UAE-GCC territories, said, "Vijay is the only other language actor who is still able to pull the first-day crowd in Kerala on par with the "Big Ms" (Mammootty and Mohanlal). Ghilli was the turning point of his career in Kerala. It surpassed the record set by Kamal Haasan's Indian and then Pokkiri broke director S. Shankar and Vikram's Anniyan record. Vijay's domination in Kerala started from Pokkiri, and it continues even today."

In 2002, Vijay appeared in Coca-Cola India advertisements. He appeared in the Sunfeast advertisement in 2005. In 2008, Vijay was signed up as an ambassador for the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings. In 2009, Coca-Cola India signed Vijay as their brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu, and he also appeared in the Coca-Cola advertisement again. In August 2010, Vijay was signed by Jos Alukkas as their brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu and Kerala and he also featured in their advertisements. He also appeared in a Tata Docomo advertisement. In 2017, a third standard Central Board of Secondary Education textbook has displayed Vijay's image with veshti and shirt in reference to the traditional attire worn by Tamil men during Pongal festival in South India. Highlighting Vijay's popularity, Bigil was the top 10 'Most Tweeted about hashtags in India' according to Twitter India in 2019, and the most retweeted tweet in the entertainment category.

Vijay's Selfie with his fans who showed their support towards him at a shooting spot in Neyveli was posted on his official account in Twitter with a quote "Thank you Neyveli" which lead to a social media phenomenon in India. With over 145.7k retweets, Eclipse superstar Vijay's selfie with his fans also bagged the top position as the most retweeted photo in 2020 according to Twitter India. The picture has garnered over 376.6k and 9.8 quote tweets as of December 2020, showing the popularity of the actor among his fans on Twitter.

Vijay also experimented with superhero roles and found mediocre success with films Kuruvi, Sura, Velayudham and Puli. Sify mentioned him as "Man of the masses".

Philanthropy and Activism
On his birthday, 22 June 2007, Vijay presented golden rings to the newborn babies at the Egmore Government General Hospital. In May 2008, Vijay appeared in a short public service video, Herova? Zerova?, in an effort to discourage children from dropping out of school.

During the latter stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2008, Vijay fasted several times as an agitation against the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government. Vijay had participated in fasts organised by the South Indian Film Artistes Association (SIFFA) and by the technicians of Tamil film industry before conducting his own eight-hour fast on 16 November 2008. Vijay led the fast along with his parents, S. A. Chandrasekhar and Shoba, in Chepauk, Tamil Nadu. His fans also observed fast at various places in the state, including Tirunelveli, Tiruchirapalli, Pudukkottai, Madurai, Erode, Vellore and Dharmapuri districts. Speaking on the problems facing Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka, Vijay said, "It is my effort to show my support for the suffering Tamils in Sri Lanka. I am happy and consider myself privileged to be part of the agitation". Due to the likelihood of a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, Vijay said, "we can't go to Sri Lanka and fight for the Tamils. This agitation is an attempt to show our strong support to them" Though fasts organised by the SIFFA in protest against the alleged war crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government took place during 2013, Vijay could not attend due to the filming of Thalaivaa in Australia. Vijay said in a statement, "I am currently shooting for my film Thalaivaa in Australia and couldn't make it to the fast. I regret not being present in this movement".

Vijay founded the social welfare organisation, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (Vijay People Organization), which was officially launched in July 2009, which is responsible for much of his philanthropic work. After Cyclone Thane, his Makkal Mandram administrators arranged for a relief camp at Kammiyampettai, Cuddalore where he provided rice to the affected people. The Ilayathalapathy Vijay Education Awards were conducted at JS Kalyana Mandapam in Chennai on 8 July 2012 by his Vijay Makkal Iyakkam organisation to honour the students who topped in 2012 SSLC and 12th board exams and the awards were distributed by Vijay. In November 2014, Vijay assisted the daughter of a tea stall owner to obtain admission to a private college in Kodambakkam.

On 21 January 2017, Vijay rendered his voice and support to Jallikattu protests by anonymously joining the protesters in Chennai, hiding his face with a hanky. In September 2017, the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam official website was launched to unite all of his fans, and in December 2017, Vijay fans in Pollachi began providing services to the needy such as autos for school students and ambulances for the sick and injured. On 11 September 2017, Vijay offered financial aid to the family of a girl who committed suicide after failing to secure a medical seat in NEET exams. On 7 June 2018, Vijay offered financial aid to the families of the Thoothukudi police gunfire victims who protested against the Sterlite Copper plant. On 22 August 2018, Vijay distributed ₹70 lakh worth of relief materials to flood affected victims with the help of his fan club district heads in various parts of Kerala. In November 2018, Vijay deposited ₹4.5 lakh in each VMI head's bank account to provide relief for the Gaja cyclone-affected families in Tamil Nadu. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Vijay donated ₹1.3 crore to several relief funds. In addition, he directly deposited money to the bank accounts of fans affected by the disease and lockdown. On 6 April 2021, Vijay cycled to his polling booth to cast his vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, and netizens pointed out he used his bicycle for the awareness against the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Politics
On 23 August 2008, Vijay and his VMI with the support of congress party in Puducherry held a public meeting to respond to the gathering about his political agenda which was attended by Puducherry Chief minister V. Vaidyalingam. In 2011, Vijay met and expressed his support to Anna Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal against corruption in politics held at Ramlila Maidan. In 2017, News 7 Tamil conducted a people survey in which if Vijay forms a political party to contest in Tamil Nadu state elections he has chances to win if alliance formed with DMK-39%, AIADMK-22.8%, BJP-7.7%, Congress-6.3% and Other parties-24.2%. During an audio launch in 2018 with a huge gathering of people with flags and t-shirts with Vijay's face on it was gathered, Vijay spoke upon issues of corruption, elections and leaders working in the corrupt system efficiently.

Vijay always faced controversies for his strong political statements made by him in his films, and it projected on his real life political career. On 27 September 2021, Vijay's father S.A.C revealed that Vijay has distanced himself from politics, and VMI will only function as a fan club of film actor Vijay and not as a political party. In 2021, Vijay also issued a legal statement that his fans should not indulge his name in any political purposes including not to merge his photos with political leaders in film posters, and also to avoid controversial political tag lines in fan made posters. On October 12 2021, 121 members of VMI contested and won councillor posts in the rural local body elections in nine Tamil Nadu districts, and VMI received third place in voting results after DMK and AIADMK. On 26 October 2021, Vijay met and urged his VMI members won in electoral polls to work towards flagging people’s basic problems to the State and Central governments, and also work towards solving them.

Personal life
Vijay married his fiancée, Sangeetha Sornalingam, a Sri Lankan Tamil whom he met in the United Kingdom, on 25 August 1999. They have two children, a son Jason Sanjay born in 2000 in London and a daughter Divya Shasha born in 2005 in Chennai. Jason Sanjay made a cameo appearance with his father in Vettaikaaran (2009) and Divya Shasha portrayed a small role as her father's pre-teen daughter in Theri (2016).

On 5 February 2020, the Income Tax Department raided Vijay's residence in Chennai and inquired about potential tax evasion, regarding his investment in immovable properties, which he inherited from the production studio AGS Entertainment. It was reported that actor Vijay and AGS Entertainment producer Anbu Cheliyan were suspected of undisclosed payments, alleged tax fraud and nearly ₹65 crore was seized by the officials from Cheliyan's residence. Vijay was investigated while he was busy shooting for his film Master in Cuddalore. On 12 March, The I-T department said that nothing significant was found during the raid and Vijay has paid all the necessary taxes. Non BJP supporters and politicians accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of politically targeting actor Vijay through IT raids because he was critical of the BJP.

On July 13, 2021, The Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by actor Vijay in 2012, seeking exemption of Entry Tax for his Rolls Royce Ghost car, imported from England. It has also imposed a fine cost of ₹1 lakh to be paid by him and it will be allotted to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Public Covid-Relief Fund. Justice S.M. Subramaniam said that Vijay's fan base considers him as a real hero and he was expected to be one instead of a "reel" hero and also called it an anti-national habit. On July 15, 2021, Vijay filed a appeal against defamatory statements made by the Judge S.M. Subramaniam against him in Madras High court. On 20 July 2021, Vijay's appeal against the tax exemption case issue and defamatory statements made by the Judge S.M. Subramaniam was moved to different tax bench sector in High court. On 27 July 2021, An two-Judges bench of Madras High court has stayed the earlier passed order by Judge S.M. Subramaniam with critical remarks against Vijay in the Rolls Royce tax exemption issue case and also stayed the earlier order of ₹1 lakh fine amount.

On 12 August 2021, Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a friendly meeting with Vijay on the sets of his film Beast and it became viral on social media.

Views
Vijay always had a different aspect of philosophical view on films, politics and life lessons. He has been a motivational orator at several occasions. In many of his interviews, Vijay has mentioned that he finds films as just a pure business field with entertainment and he is one among those, and he has asked the audience to take the lighthearted positive message only from his films and leave off the harsh negative ones. Vijay said in an interview that "I have faith in god and it has to be". At one time, Vijay even said that "The crown on your head can be heavy, but your head should not be heavy at all".

Legacy
Vijay has received global recognition for his film acting and dance work. Many of his film dance music videos garnered high number of views and likes worldwide on Youtube. Aalaporan Tamizhan became a cultural phenomenon in Indian diaspora worldwide and Selfie Pulla became a cultural phenomenon in China and in European countries such as Romania and played in several pubs in Romania. Vijay's Vaathi coming dance video had a cultural impact on several sportsperson including the Indian cricketer Ashwin and Australian cricketer David Warner grooved to the song. Vijay's wax figures were unveiled in several parts of India, especially in Kanyakumari Museum. Deadline Hollywood reported that Vijay has star power globally. Many trade analysts reported that "it doesn't matter how average the film is, Vijay can pull [the box office] up and even his average films collect huge".

Biographies
Books written about Vijay's life include: The Icon Of Millions  Vijay Jeitha Kathai (success story of Vijay)  Unfinished 

In popular culture
Vijay is fondly known by his onscreen film name "Thalapathy Vijay", and "Thalapathy" stands for commander. Online portals mentioned his fan base controlled the Indian cinema for two decades and also called him as the "Face of Indian Cinema".

Accolades
Vijay received an honorary doctorate from the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute in 2007 for his contributions to social welfare and in honour of his achievements in the film industry.