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Actor Vijay has announced a new film that will be titled Varisu in Tamil and Vaarasudu in Telugu. It will be directed by Vamshi Paidipally and produced by Dil Raju.
To be sure, despite the obvious disadvantage of a restricted market, Vijay who saw two of his 11 films flop between 2010 and 2019, has a track record that reads much better than several Bollywood and even Tamil movie heroes. His recent films Sarkar and Mersal had touched the Rs. 250 crore mark worldwide, while Master and Beast helped the theatrical business limp back to recovery post the covid-19 pandemic. And there are specific reasons for the consistent box office run.
Vijay has a great image and a super strong fan following in Tamil Nadu especially at the grassroots level, according to trade analysts. His charm extends from the youth to female audiences for whom he always has something special in his movies. In Bigil, for example, the actor has essayed a dual role — an aged gangster and a women’s football team coach.
The social messaging balances well with Vijay’s inclination to cater primarily to mass audiences and centres. While his earlier films portrayed him as the stereotypical dancing, action hero, the actor has made a conscious attempt to become more sophisticated. There are fewer songs in a Vijay-starrer now, none of them objectify women and they follow the broader trajectory of making a point while making it fun for audiences.
His self-professed imminent entry into politics, like Rajinikanth, further helps create a halo around Vijay. These are aided by the messiah-like roles. In Sarkar, he was a non-resident Indian raising awareness about electoral fraud. In Mersal and Kaththi (2014), he fought medical negligence and corporate manipulation to take over farmland.