The ever youthful Vijay turns 40

Ask a film buff to list the commercial flicks which

can be watched by everyone at any given point of time. The list will include, 'Ghillie' or 'Thuppakki' or 'Nanban' or all the three.

No marks to guess the common factor between three most celebrated commercial flicks of the recent years. With these films, 'Ilayathalabathi' Vijay who celebrates his birthday today (June 22) proved that he is not only the darling of masses but also capable grabbing the hearts of those bracketed as elite audience.  

With a career spanning more than two decades  Vijay has also given the best of mass films like  'Thirumalai' 'Thirupachi', 'Pokkiri' 'Sivakasi' and 'Jilla'

Vijay is unarguably the most celebrated stars of the recent times and he is holding the box office king status for more than a decade now. But the entry and the journey to the coveted position he reigns in today was not easy.

Being the son of a successful filmmaker S.A.Chandrasekar, does not mean easy ticket to hero roles for Vijay. He has acted in master roles and supporting roles before becoming a lead hero. Vijay had to struggle a lot during his initial stages to carve a niche for himself as an actor. It required two decades of phenomenal patience, sheer hard work, sincerity to the profession and unending commitment to exceed expectations of the audience, for the actor to place himself in the league of yesteryear super star MGR and current Superstar Rajinikanth.

Vijay's impressive dancing skills, dialogue delivery and effective portrayal of stunt sequences have made him different from any other actor who has been successful in commercial films. Also the young looks and physique he has been maintaining for many years have been a matter of wonder for many. A stranger to Tamil films may not believe that he turns 40 tomorrow. When he acted as an Engineering College student in 'Nanban' that released in 2012 no one questioned the suitability of his looks for the character.