New Delhi: The long-awaited moment is finally here. Thalapathy Vijay’s last movie, Jana Nayagan, hit theatres on Thursday (July 23) after being stuck with the Censor Board for six months over its certification. Fans throughout India and overseas hurried to watch the early morning shows. Social media platforms are already filled with reactions from excited fans.
Just before the first half finished, viewers were shown an eye-catching title card that calls Vijay the honourable Chief Minister.
The title card presents Vijay’s name using three distinct titles
The first line says Thalapathy Vijay, the second line refers to him as Ilaya Thalapathy Vijay, and the third line calls him the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. A major part of the online community said, “Title card peaked.”
The story behind his title names
Vijay was initially given the title Ilaya Thalapathy (meaning “Young Commander”) by his movie director father SA Chandrasekhar back in 1994 to build his image as an emerging hero. As his popularity grew and his roles transformed into a leader fighting system-wide corruption, director Atlee removed the “Ilaya” (young) part of his name in 2017.
Since that time, the single title Thalapathy (meaning “Commander” or “Leader”) has stayed with him.
The name shows his strong presence on screen, his position as a box-office king, and his loyal fans. It changed from a movie nickname into his main public identity, particularly after he officially joined politics and started his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Box-office benchmark
Promoted as Vijay’s 69th and last movie as a lead actor, this H Vinoth directorial comes with one big question – can it beat Leo’s estimated Rs 606 crore and The Greatest of All Time (GOAT)’s Rs 458 crore global total, particularly overseas where the actor-turned-politician has created one of Indian cinema’s strongest fan bases?
Leo stays as Vijay’s highest-earning film with an estimated Rs 606 crore worldwide, followed by GOAT at around Rs 458 crore.
About the film
Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan serves as Vijay’s (reported) final movie as an actor, originally designed as his goodbye gift to fans before elections.
Produced by KVN Productions with an estimated budget of Rs 500 crore, the movie stars a popular cast including Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, and Mamitha Baiju, with music created by Anirudh Ravichander.
