Ilayathalapathy Vijay - When one hears his name, everything involved in a formulaic masala movie comes to one's mind. Impressive dancing skills, bursting comedy, likeable romance, huge dosage of sentiments and mostly mindless action/stunt sequences. A large amount of Indians around the world aged from 6-60 form the huge fan base that he enjoys. But despite all that has been said, done and celebrated about this celebrity, many fail to understand the quality behind his superstardom and it would not be an exaggeration in saying that the actor himself too, does not.
Talking about Vijay, I have to say that I myself am a huge fan of his. His acting and dancing histrionics have taken my breath away. The very fact that a nearly 35 year-old father of two has so much zest, energy and 'youngness' is utterly impressive. But then again, a lot of things must be corrected about this celebrity if his films were to ever reach an international level that is beyond just commercial success within Tamil Nadu.
1. Selection of Scripts/Stories/Screenplay - Look at his movies over the past few years. All were commercial, typical run-of-the-mill masala potboilers. All except ATM and Sachien. And this may not be largely attributed to just Vijay's lack of taste for scripts, but also to his fan’s non-acceptance of him in non-action related roles. Vijay's selection of script is largely in contrast to that of Suriya's. The contrast is Entertainment Vs Quality. This does not mean one should compromise one for the other. Both should be major aspects of a movie’s success, but one should not overpower the other. When Vijay did Sachien, I thought his acting was cute, awesome and natural. Sadly, the movie bombed at the box office. But when he took on the monotonous roles in Thirupachi, Gillie and Pokkiri, they ruled the roost. Of course it is well-known that even his fans could not save him from the immensely ridiculously plotted Kuruvi, Villu and Aadi. So it must be admitted that even his fans give more importance to story than Vijay himself. So he should probably stop making movies that he thinks will and should cater to his fans, and not bank on his star power all the time. Vijay badly needs counseling on selecting the right scripts that are able to show more of acting skills rather than his larger-than-life image. And remakes are not the way to do it. The Vijay that we saw in Thullatha Manamum Thullum, Sachien and Madura needs to come back - and that too badly. Gautham Menon, Shankar, Mani Ratnam are the directors that could probably give his career a saving grace.
2. Looks, Styling, Wardrobe - Vijay's idea of fashion is highly pitiful and lousy. His sense of dressing and unkempt looks are a put off. He needs a hair stylist urgently and that too a good one. He should take dressing tips/lessons from Korean Drama Actors. Honestly, Vijay's lack of style in terms of wardrobe shows him off as anything but a superstar. He looks dirty and messy, a look that he thinks that his fans probably love or accept, but this look is so internationally unfriendly. It simply lacks standards. His dressing in the second half of Villu was stylish, but his unkempt looks cancelled this style out. He tried to put on a playboy image but simply failed to. His Ramarajan colored bellbottom pants were prevalent only in the 80's but he refuses to give them up. The ugly chest-hair and beard are all minus points. Being in Singapore and living with other races, it is hard to show off to my Chinese and Malay friends what my favorite Tamil Hero looks like because although Vijay is so strikingly youth-looking and handsome, his lack of grooming plays him out. Whereas Chinese and Malay heroes are so well-groomed even though they may not be as good-looking. This tells the lack of international standards. The title of Vijay's next movie Vettaikkaran suggests another typical commercial potboiler, with no promise of difference that he promises in every other movie before its release
3. Personality - Being a celebrity, one must be paparazzi friendly. Vijay fails in this aspect. He likes to show himself off as a reserved and quiet personality, which I think should change. Close and friendly interactions with the media are tools to career success and support. The recent video of Vijay blowing his top at a cleaner during a press meet might have sparked some curiosity about his true character - whether he is the type that can accept defeat or not. The incident had occurred because he was being questioned about the flop of Villu. And it amazes me that he, being a big star, could not see this coming because even if not for the story, so many technical aspects of Villu were illogical. The stunt sequences were just beyond belief. Especially one sequence where the speedboat goes underwater. Even three-year old kids wouldn't believe such a phenomenon.
Overall, there is a lot of things that Ilayathalapathy needs to correct about himself and his selection of films. If he is going to continue with the flow of movies with dappanguthu songs, nonsensical fight sequences, punch dialogues, disgusting kuppathu lungi dances that supposedly "SATISFY" his fans, he might not go very far. This article is written solely as my opinion and is not intended at hurting Ilayathalapathy Vijay or his die-hard fans. Nevertheless, I believe that being a celebrity, one should learn to accept criticisms as much as compliments and improve. Internationalism is the need of the hour for Vijay, and it should just not stop with his song and movie scenes that are taken overseas.
Regards,Endrendrum Vijay's Fan,Kubarenkub1990@yahoo.com.sg
Talking about Vijay, I have to say that I myself am a huge fan of his. His acting and dancing histrionics have taken my breath away. The very fact that a nearly 35 year-old father of two has so much zest, energy and 'youngness' is utterly impressive. But then again, a lot of things must be corrected about this celebrity if his films were to ever reach an international level that is beyond just commercial success within Tamil Nadu.
1. Selection of Scripts/Stories/Screenplay - Look at his movies over the past few years. All were commercial, typical run-of-the-mill masala potboilers. All except ATM and Sachien. And this may not be largely attributed to just Vijay's lack of taste for scripts, but also to his fan’s non-acceptance of him in non-action related roles. Vijay's selection of script is largely in contrast to that of Suriya's. The contrast is Entertainment Vs Quality. This does not mean one should compromise one for the other. Both should be major aspects of a movie’s success, but one should not overpower the other. When Vijay did Sachien, I thought his acting was cute, awesome and natural. Sadly, the movie bombed at the box office. But when he took on the monotonous roles in Thirupachi, Gillie and Pokkiri, they ruled the roost. Of course it is well-known that even his fans could not save him from the immensely ridiculously plotted Kuruvi, Villu and Aadi. So it must be admitted that even his fans give more importance to story than Vijay himself. So he should probably stop making movies that he thinks will and should cater to his fans, and not bank on his star power all the time. Vijay badly needs counseling on selecting the right scripts that are able to show more of acting skills rather than his larger-than-life image. And remakes are not the way to do it. The Vijay that we saw in Thullatha Manamum Thullum, Sachien and Madura needs to come back - and that too badly. Gautham Menon, Shankar, Mani Ratnam are the directors that could probably give his career a saving grace.
2. Looks, Styling, Wardrobe - Vijay's idea of fashion is highly pitiful and lousy. His sense of dressing and unkempt looks are a put off. He needs a hair stylist urgently and that too a good one. He should take dressing tips/lessons from Korean Drama Actors. Honestly, Vijay's lack of style in terms of wardrobe shows him off as anything but a superstar. He looks dirty and messy, a look that he thinks that his fans probably love or accept, but this look is so internationally unfriendly. It simply lacks standards. His dressing in the second half of Villu was stylish, but his unkempt looks cancelled this style out. He tried to put on a playboy image but simply failed to. His Ramarajan colored bellbottom pants were prevalent only in the 80's but he refuses to give them up. The ugly chest-hair and beard are all minus points. Being in Singapore and living with other races, it is hard to show off to my Chinese and Malay friends what my favorite Tamil Hero looks like because although Vijay is so strikingly youth-looking and handsome, his lack of grooming plays him out. Whereas Chinese and Malay heroes are so well-groomed even though they may not be as good-looking. This tells the lack of international standards. The title of Vijay's next movie Vettaikkaran suggests another typical commercial potboiler, with no promise of difference that he promises in every other movie before its release
3. Personality - Being a celebrity, one must be paparazzi friendly. Vijay fails in this aspect. He likes to show himself off as a reserved and quiet personality, which I think should change. Close and friendly interactions with the media are tools to career success and support. The recent video of Vijay blowing his top at a cleaner during a press meet might have sparked some curiosity about his true character - whether he is the type that can accept defeat or not. The incident had occurred because he was being questioned about the flop of Villu. And it amazes me that he, being a big star, could not see this coming because even if not for the story, so many technical aspects of Villu were illogical. The stunt sequences were just beyond belief. Especially one sequence where the speedboat goes underwater. Even three-year old kids wouldn't believe such a phenomenon.
Overall, there is a lot of things that Ilayathalapathy needs to correct about himself and his selection of films. If he is going to continue with the flow of movies with dappanguthu songs, nonsensical fight sequences, punch dialogues, disgusting kuppathu lungi dances that supposedly "SATISFY" his fans, he might not go very far. This article is written solely as my opinion and is not intended at hurting Ilayathalapathy Vijay or his die-hard fans. Nevertheless, I believe that being a celebrity, one should learn to accept criticisms as much as compliments and improve. Internationalism is the need of the hour for Vijay, and it should just not stop with his song and movie scenes that are taken overseas.
Regards,Endrendrum Vijay's Fan,Kubarenkub1990@yahoo.com.sg
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