As Vijay is set to lead Tamil Nadu after a historic electoral win, a look at films that built his mass appeal while affirming how cinema shaped his larger-than-life public persona.
Key Points
- Thalapathy Vijay’s political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is riding a successful wave in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
- His political success is attributed to his massive fan following and recent films that have carried strong political undertones.
- His collaborations with directors like A R Murugadoss, Atlee and Lokesh Kanagaraj have consistently delivered blockbusters that resonated with audiences.
Vijay, or ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay as his fans love to hail him, is set to enter a new chapter in his legacy.
Following in the footsteps of actor-politicians M G Ramachandran (MGR) and J Jayalalithaa, Vijay could well emerge as Tamil Nadu’s next chief minister after his party’s resounding win in the 2026 state elections.
Despite this being his first electoral outing after launching the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in 2024, this performance is a testament to the actor’s massive fan following in the state, which has now transitioned into huge political support.
It helps that several of his recent films have carried political undertones, with the superstar portraying characters who champion the causes of the common man. This has reportedly been the key reason for the indefinite delay of his purported final film Jana Nayagan, which had scenes that reflected his political ideology.
While we wait and observe his journey as a political leader with the same fervency as his cinema, Sreeju Sudhakaran picks 10 of his most popular films from this century that reflected the rise and rule of Vijay the superstar.
Kushi (2000)
The curious thing about superstars transitioning into full-fledged mass entertainers is how rarely they return to the genre that first endeared them to younger audiences: Romance.
While Vijay has spent years rewriting box office records with action-heavy spectacles and politically-tinged dramas, one still wishes he would occasionally revisit something light-hearted and romantic. Kushi, directed by SJ Suryah, belongs to that formative phase of his star-making career and remains immensely endearing.
Some elements have not aged particularly well, including the overly suggestive picturisation of the Kattipudi Kattipudida song and the infamous navel fixation trope.
Yet, the film continues to charm as an uproarious romantic comedy, powered by delightful performances from Vijay and Jyothika, whose chemistry remains a major draw. The soundtrack, featuring songs like Megam Karukuthu, Macarena and O Vennila, still lingers fondly in popular memory.
Ghilli (2004)
Ghilli pairs Vijay with one of his most beloved on-screen co-stars, Trisha Krishnan, in a high-octane romantic action drama. He plays the kind-hearted ruffian Ghilli, who becomes an unlikely saviour to Trisha’s character, rescuing her from a menacing gangster obsessed with forcing her into marriage.
A remake of Okkadu, the film is directed by Dharani and features Prakash Raj in one of his most iconic antagonist roles as Muthupandi.
Widely regarded as a major turning point of Vijay’s career, Ghilli‘s blockbuster success is often credited with pushing him decisively towards action cinema. If that holds true, then this film should be credited massively in shaping the mass persona that would later feed into his larger cultural and political identity.
Also, can any college fete or party feel complete if there is not at least one performance to the rambunctious Appadi Podu?
Pokkiri (2007)
The second Mahesh Babu remake (after Okkadu) on this list, Pokkiri is directed by Prabhu Deva and features Vijay as a street-smart goon who rises through the ranks by working for a feared don, played by Prakash Raj.
What elevates the film is a cleverly-mounted twist tied to Vijay’s character, one that continues to give fans goosebumps.
Asin plays the female lead, and her breezy chemistry with Vijay adds to the film’s appeal.
The soundtrack was widely popular, and riding on its box office success, Prabhu Deva later remade the film in Hindi as Wanted starring Salman Khan.
Thuppakki (2012)
Thuppakki stands as one of the finest mainstream thrillers to emerge from Tamil cinema in the previous decade.
Directed by a then-in-form A R Murugadoss, the film casts Vijay as an army officer who finds himself in a deadly game of wits with a terrorist mastermind and his network of sleeper cells.
While the romantic track with Kajal Aggarwal occasionally slows the narrative, the film truly comes alive in its taut cat-and-mouse stretches, particularly as the hero dismantles the terror network and faces retaliation against his family.
Vidyut Jammwal delivers a chilling performance as the calculating antagonist. Vijay, in turn, is effortlessly charismatic, delivering one of his most controlled and effective performances, with his ‘I’m waiting’ line still widely quoted and celebrated.
The film was later remade in Hindi as Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, starring Akshay Kumar, by Murugadoss himself.
Kaththi (2014)
After the success of Thuppakki, Vijay and A R Murugadoss reunited for Kaththi, delivering another major commercial success.
Vijay takes on a dual role here: A socially conscious activist working for the welfare of farmers, and his lookalike, a petty conman who is forced to assume his identity and gradually develops a conscience.
The film explores corporate exploitation of rural resources and the resulting distress faced by farmers, themes that many read as early hints of Vijay’s political leanings.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu plays the female lead, while Neil Nitin Mukesh takes on the antagonist’s role.
Kaththi remains widely referenced for its standout moments, particularly the ‘blueprint’ sequence, and its emotionally charged climax.
Theri (2016)
Theri marked Atlee’s first collaboration with Vijay and the second film of his career.
Vijay plays a widower living in Kerala with his young daughter, concealing his past as a cop while posing as an ordinary local.
While his attempts at speaking Malayalam occasionally come across as unintentionally amusing, the film gains momentum as it gradually reveals the truth about his past.
The revenge arc may lack cohesion and stretches plausibility at times, but the film scores in its romantic scenes (with Samantha) and mass-heavy moments, particularly the sequence where his cop character reveals what he has done to a rapist.
The film was later remade in Hindi as Baby John starring Varun Dhawan, though it failed to match the impact of the original and was a box office failure.
Mersal (2017)
Mersal marked the second collaboration between Atlee and Vijay, and this one was also a huge blockbuster.
Vijay takes on a triple role: A village chieftain who is killed, and his twin sons, separated at birth, one a principled doctor and the other a vigilante magician. Among the three Atlee-Vijay collaborations, Mersal leans most heavily into political commentary, with its pointed references to GST and Digital India stirring controversy at the time.
While the storyline itself is familiar, the film works on the strength of Atlee’s grand staging and Vijay’s energetic triple performance, both of which keep the narrative engaging.
Bigil (2019)
Often described by critics as Chak De! India on dope, Bigil sees Atlee craft a sports thriller that leans fully into Vijay’s star persona. Vijay plays a goonda who reluctantly steps in as the coach of a women’s football team, while also appearing in a dual role as his gangster father.
Unlike Chak De! India, the film prioritises spectacle and hero-centric moments over grounded storytelling, with the football sequences staged in a visually grand, crowd-pleasing manner.
Nayanthara plays the female lead, while Jackie Shroff, Daniel Balaji and I M Vijayan appear in antagonist roles.
Master (2021)
There is a clear pattern in Vijay’s more recent filmography: He often reunites with directors who have delivered major hits for him, and those collaborations tend to yield strong results again.
After ARM and Atlee, his partnership with Lokesh Kanagaraj is yet another case in point. Riding high on the success of Kaithi, Lokesh stepped into the bigger league with Master, presenting Vijay as an alcoholic but immensely popular lecturer who is assigned to a juvenile reform school.
While the premise offers a different shade of the star, the film still leans into familiar mass beats.
The standout element, however, is Vijay Sethupathi’s scene-stealing antagonist, whose presence, along with the confrontations between the two actors, elevates what is otherwise a fairly routine screenplay.
Leo (2023)
Following the success of Master, Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj reunited for Leo, a project that arrived with ambitious plans of expanding the director’s cinematic universe which, sadly, may never happen.
Loosely inspired by A History of Violence, Leo was positioned as part of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) alongside Kaithi and Vikram.
However, it is perhaps better to water down your expectations and view Leo as a standalone effort. With Vijay now transitioning fully into politics, the prospect of him returning to this universe and sharing screen space with figures like Kamal Haasan, Suriya and Karthi seems unlikely.
The film features Trisha Krishnan as the female lead, with Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Sarja as antagonists. While it may not match the tightness of Lokesh’s earlier works, Leo still delivers scale, style and several engaging moments, anchored by a strong central performance from Vijay.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
