If everything goes according to his plan, this might be the last time we celebrate June 22 as the birthday of “film star” Vijay. By this time next year, director H Vinoth’s Jana Nayagan, Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged entry into politics, will have been released and run its course. He will no longer be “Thalapathy” Vijay, but simply the founding president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), unless his party strikes gold in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections, expected to take place in April or May 2026. Either way, the good old days of watching a “Thalapathy” film in theatres may soon be just a memory; unless, of course, he changes his mind.Having entered the industry in 1992 as a leading man in his father SA Chandrasekhar’s Naalaiya Theerpu, following a handful of appearances as a child artiste, Vijay, who turns 51 this year, has gone on to become one of the biggest box-office draws in the country. With not a single underperformer since Chimbu Deven’s Puli (2015) and even films that received mixed responses like Beast (2022), Varisu (2023) and The Greatest of All Time (GOAT, 2024) raking in good money, Vijay ranks among one of the biggest superstars in the country now. Hence, his decision to step away from films now has come as a shock to many and a heartbreak to his fans.Only in SCREEN | ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay: How the average kid in town became one of the biggest stars of Indian cinemaAlthough it was his father who launched Joseph Vijay — his first appearance as a child was in Vetri (1984), and that movie too was helmed by Chandrasekhar — the actor has previously shared that his father was initially reluctant to introduce him as a leading man. Frustrated, Vijay even ran away from home, leaving behind a note asking his parents not to search for him. The situation, however, ended in a comical anticlimax of sorts.“I was a bit weak in studies. Since I had to do something in life, I kept asking my father to introduce me in movies. But he said no, maintaining that it won’t work out for me. This was also a struggle within a struggle. Where will I go leaving home? So, my idea was to go to Udhayam Theatre, watch a movie and come back. But just to give a build-up, I left behind a letter. My plan was to return in two hours. However, as I was watching the film, my father found out that I was at Udhayam Theatre. He came and took me back home,” Vijay shared during an appearance on Star Vijay’s celebrity talk show Koffee with Anu once. Vijay with his father SA Chandrasekhar and mother Shoba.Interestingly, Chandrasekhar has also recounted this story. In his version, however, Vijay left the house at 10 in the morning and didn’t return for hours, and they found him only in the evening. The filmmaker also revealed that he had initially hoped his son would become a doctor, especially after the tragic loss of Vijay’s younger sister, who died of blood cancer at the age of two. Vijay was just ten at the time.“When he told me that he wanted to be an actor, I said no. One day, he left the house at ten in the morning and didn’t come back even as the sun was setting. We found a note on the dining table that said that he was leaving us and that we shouldn’t search for him. My wife and I searched everywhere and I eventually landed up at Udhayam theatre. The watchman recognised me and said, your son is inside watching a movie,” he told Scroll.in during a chat in 2018.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd