Vijay, fondly addressed as 'Thalapathy' by his fans, stands tall as one of the biggest heroes down South. He has endeared himself to the Tamil masses over the past 25 years, with carefully planned steps.
Though he has this local 'mass' image and has played roles which directly connect with the gallery, he has from time to time gone slightly against the norm to try out urban, suave, sophisticated roles too. In his under-production film (Thalapathy 62) , the star has been seen in debonair blazer suits and a well-groomed look in general. He has also been spotted driving a Rolls Royce for one of the scenes in the film.
The rumour mill has it that Vijay plays a rich businessman returning to India. Since Thalapathy 62 is predominantly being shot outdoors in Chennai, leaks of pictures and videos have marred the progress of the film and slightly spoiled the suspense factor. Nevertheless, his fans have lapped up this stylish look of Vijay ever since the look test stills and videos were leaked online.
Here's looking back at Vijay's career, in an attempt to spot some of his other cool, urban roles.
Kushi (2000) – Vijay played a city youngster named Shiva, sporting trendy outfits for probably the first time in his career. Till then, he had mostly played the unassuming small-town lad and built up his fan following in the rural belt and among the family audience.
Priyamanavale (2000) – Vijay played a rich youngster who returns from abroad. With heavy Western influences and a devil-may-care attitude, he agrees to a marriage with a weird one-year validity rule. This was a remake of the Telugu movie Pavitra Bandham (1996), starring Venkatesh and Soundarya. The same plot made its way to Hindi as Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999), with Anil Kapoor and Kajol.
Sachein (2005) – By this time, Vijay had established himself as a young mass hero in all the centres, with films like Thirumalai, Ghilli and Thirupachi. He looked very trendy and stylish in Sachein as a college student with a refreshingly easy-going attitude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y97dxUeSRTk
Nanban (2012) – Vijay turned back the clock to play a brilliant college student in this 3 Idiots remake, directed by Shankar. He looked comfortable as a college lad and pulled off the English dialogues with ease.
Thuppakki (2012) – In his most beloved film till date, Vijay played an uber-stylish DIA specialist / army man. His body language, looks, costumes and dialogue delivery were in a different league compared to all his earlier films. The pre-interval shootout scene with all the blazer-clad army men is spoken about fondly, even now.
Thalaivaa (2013) – Vijay played a stylish, Sydney-based dancer who returns to Mumbai and fills his dad's shoes as a vigilante messiah for the helpless people of Mumbai. This was again an understated, subtle side of Vijay far removed from his usual loud self.