KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — A sensational swansong for prominent Tamil actor Vijay will take place with full pomp and pageantry in Malaysia this month.
The 51-year-old actor will personally attend the audio launch of his final movie, Jana Nayagan, at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on December 27.
The day-long event, touted to be the largest gathering of Vijay’s fans outside India, will kick off with the Thalapathy Thiruvizha concert, followed by the audio launch.
Vijay’s fans fondly regard him as “Thalapathy”, which means commander in English.
Event organiser Malik Streams Corporation sold over 60,000 tickets within just five hours and expects some 85,000 fans to throng the stadium on the day.
So, what’s the hype all about?
Currently one of the highest-paid Tamil actors, Vijay — whose full name is Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar — is expected to make his election debut in the Tamil Nadu state assembly elections in 2026.
He entered politics after launching his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in February 2024 but continued acting in the blockbuster hit The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), which was released the same year.
Vijay debuted as a child actor in Vetri (1984) and as a full-fledged hero in Naalaiya Theerpu (1992) — both directed by his father and renowned filmmaker S.A. Chandrasekhar.
He has bagged several prestigious awards in his career that spans over 40 years, including the Best International Actor Award from the United Kingdom for Mersal in 2018.
However, the actor decided to trade his stardom for full-time politics after completing his 69th and widely believed to be final film, Jana Nayagan.
“I’m throwing away the peak of my career and my salary... I’m here as your Vijay with a trust in all of you,” Vijay told thousands of supporters at his party’s first-ever public rally in October 2024.
Vijay’s TVK party sat out the 2024 Indian parliamentary elections.
However, he is expected to be a game-changer in the 2026 Tamil Nadu state elections, with observers saying his party is rapidly gaining ground among youths and religious minorities.
Vijay also resumed his political rallies after a brief break following a stampede at his rally in the Karur district of Tamil Nadu that killed 41 people last October.
Meanwhile, Jana Nayagan — which means “a democrat” or “the people’s hero” in Tamil — is a star-studded film featuring Bobby Deol, Prakash Raj, Pooja Hegde, Priyamani, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Mamitha Baiju.
The film is helmed by H. Vinoth, known for directing high-octane action thrillers such as Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017) and Thunivu (2023), and is produced by KVN Productions.
So, what’s on the itinerary?
Renowned music composer Anirudh Ravichander, also the music director of Jana Nayagan, will lead the 10-hour-long Thalapathy Thiruvizha tribute concert to Vijay before he formally retires from cinema.
The concert will feature some 40 sensational hits from Vijay’s films as well as songs from Jana Nayagan.
Some of India’s finest singers will join Anirudh, including Anuradha Sriram, S.P. Charan, Tippu, Shweta Mohan, Andrea Jeremiah, Krish and Saindhavi, among others.
Malaysia’s Tamil rap powerhouse Yogi B & Natchatra is also set to electrify the stage with their iconic Happy New Year track from Vijay’s 2008 blockbuster Kuruvi.
The audio launch will take place immediately after the concert and Vijay will cap off the night with his highly awaited speech.
Jana Nayagan is slated to hit theatres worldwide on January 9 next year, a week before the four-day-long Pongal harvest festival.
