Tamil star Thalapathy Vijay thanked his fans and supporters in the film industry last week for defending his controversial movie 'Mersal'. The film has come under fire from BJP leaders who vehemently oppose its mockery of GST and demonetisation. Vijay's statements follows a week's silence. He issued a note on a letter pad with his name in red and bold. “Jesus Saves,” he wrote. “My colleagues in the film industry, actors, directors, producers, organisations representing actors, directors, some of the renowned national leaders, media houses and my friends have given them a befitting reply. I thank all of them who supported 'Mersal'.”
While we admire the actor's humility, what's worth noticing is that the actor signed his message with his full Christian name, C. Joseph Vijay. This appears to be a befitting reply to BJP national secretary H Raja who targeted and pointed out that the actor was Christian. Sources close to Vijay said it was for the first time he introduced himself as C. Joseph Vijay before his fans. “He was always Vijay to everyone. Who bothers about the surname of an actor? He has rarely issued similar public statements for his fans as most such communications were video messages. I do not remember him using his official name in a public statement addressing fans. When politicians try to put him in bad light for having a Christian identity, this is a strong reply,” a source said.
Vijay's father, S A Chandrasekhar, a known face in the Tamil film industry, said he left the columns of religion and caste vacant when he admitted his son to school. “Why is a national leader worrying about my son's Christian surname? Why is that significant in the life of an artiste? What is the problem even if he is a practising Christian? We see cinema as a medium, but they see it as a weapon and get scared of dialogues,” he said.
