‘Jana Nayagan’ bids adieu: Inside ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay’s farewell film

“For the fans who gave up everything for me, I’m giving up cinema itself.” These words of Tamil superstar Vijay – fondly known arsenic ‘Thalapathy’ to his fans – rang done Malaysia’s packed Bukit Jalil Stadium a week ago, during the caller audio motorboat of Jana Nayagan.

The merchandise of immoderate Vijay movie is peculiar successful Tamil Nadu, acknowledgment to his popularity. But Jana Nayagan, acceptable to deed screens soon, is other peculiar — with this swansong, the prima is bidding goodbye to films aft plunging full-time into authorities with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

For millions of Vijay fans crossed the globe, this merchandise marks the climax of a rollercoaster of emotions. “Only aft I heard him talk astatine the audio launch, and the umpteen instrumentality edits that followed, did it deed maine that we volition nary longer person specified celebrations astatine the theatres,” says an affectional Vicky Vijay, a Salem-based auditor and ardent instrumentality of the actor.

Path to glory

In 2026, Vijay is looking astatine caller beginnings successful a caller arena.

In the 1980s and 90s, the erstwhile scrawny and self-effacing histrion made a quiescent introduction into a power-packed Tamil movie industry, ruled by the likes of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Vijay had backing — helium was the lad of fashionable manager SA Chandrasekhar — but his prime of roles, surface beingness and penchant for enactment and creation was what rapidly made him a unit to reckon with.

With 2003’s Thirumalai, the romance-drama leader successful Vijay made a career-defining crook towards the enactment entertainer genre, which reached its highest with 2004’s Ghilli, a marquee movie that would sow the seeds of superstardom, 2005’s Thirupaachi, and 2007’s Pokkiri. How 2012’s Thuppakkilit the container bureau connected occurrence was an aboriginal motion of what was to travel — ‘Ilayathalapathy’ became ‘Thalapathy’ — a frenzy fuelled by his neck-and-neck contention with Ajith Kumar. Along with the latter, Vijay emerged arsenic 1 of the biggest superstars of the industry. With movies that consistently deed the bullseye, helium soon became a container bureau powerhouse.

No different superstar successful Tamil enjoys the benignant of younker pursuing that Vijay has amassed implicit the decades. In his boy-next-door charm, millions of Tamil younker saw themselves — each schoolroom has a kid who has emulated Vijay’s kerchief-flipping demeanour, ‘punch’ dialogues, and costumes. He became a messiah of middle-class youth, motivating them with songs, dialogues and his celebrated ‘Kutty Stories’ astatine audio launches, urging them to locomotion with their heads held high.

“We volition miss him connected the large screen,” Archana Kalpathi said during the merchandise of The Greatest of All Time, Vijay’s erstwhile film. Archana has had aggregate links with Vijay’s enactment implicit the years; archetypal arsenic a fan, which she became aft watching Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) successful school. Then, arsenic a theatre proprietor — Archana is the CEO of AGS Cinemas, a starring multiplex concatenation — and a producer, having bankrolled projects similar Bigil and GOAT. “From an exhibitor’s constituent of view, his movie is 1 tentpole merchandise successful a twelvemonth that helps america tide implicit 3 atrocious months astatine the container office. His 1 movie has a guaranteed opening and collection. The gross that we get from his movie is what we usage to woody with our slower months. It volition beryllium a large vacuum, and it volition beryllium hard to fill,” she says.

These are so large shoes to fill. Srither S, secretary, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association, distributor and exhibitor, says that determination volition beryllium a large nonaccomplishment successful revenue. “In the past six years, but for 2025,” — lone the 2nd calendar twelvemonth since 1992 to not spot a Vijay movie — “Vijay has had astatine slightest 1 movie each year. And connected average, his movie would relationship for 20-23% of the full gross gross from theatres that year. So his status is decidedly a immense nonaccomplishment for distributors and exhibitors.”

“If we felt his lack successful a twelvemonth similar 2025, past ideate however large a nonaccomplishment his status would cause,” says Vishnu Kamal, proprietor of Kamala Cinemas successful Vadapalani. “It’s a immense loss; successful a twelvemonth similar 2023, we had 2 Vijay films (Varisuand Leo) among the apical 5 highest-grossing films. In 2024, again, GOAT took the apical spot, and arsenic acold arsenic Kamala Cinemas is concerned, the re-release of Ghillicame second, acknowledgment to tremendous footfalls. So he’s a large contributor,” adds Vishnu, stating that a premier crushed for this is that audiences from each property groups travel to theatres to ticker a Vijay film.

He stresses that theatre owners volition miss a “symbol of hope,” recollecting however the star’s 2021 movie Master— 1 of the archetypal big-ticket releases during the pandemic, with a headdress connected 50% theatre occupancy — helped theatre owners retrieve from the brutal months. “I tin accidental this confidently — the determination to merchandise Master in theatres revived Tamil cinema aft the COVID-19 pandemic. And for that, theatre owners volition beryllium eternally grateful to him and the squad of Master. Because radical were frightened to measurement out, and due to the fact that OTT was connected the rise, they were conscionable getting accustomed to watching films successful what they thought was a overmuch safer environment. It was Master that brought audiences backmost to theatres.”

The GOAT entertainer bids goodbye

Beyond business, what Tamil cinema would genuinely miss is simply a performer who could creation similar a charm and execute enactment sequences with grace and conviction. This ‘complete entertainer’ is what Vicky says helium would miss connected screen. “Sure, we person Sivakarthikeyan dilatory pursuing up connected those footsteps, but today, Vijay is the lone entertainer who ticks each boxes,” helium says.

It is absorbing that this die-hard instrumentality mentions Sivakarthikeyan. The star, whose Parasakthiclashes with Jana Nayagan astatine the container bureau this Pongal, is wide believed to beryllium Vijay’s ‘successor’. This buzz gained crushed aft Vijay ‘handed implicit a gun’ successful a country successful his past film, The Greatest of All Time, to Sivakarthikeyan, thing that is wide believed to beryllium a passing-of-the-baton gesture. Scoffing astatine speculations of a tiff and referring to his adjacent camaraderie with Vijay, Sivakarthikeyan said astatine a caller event, “No substance who says what, this Pongal is an Annan-Thambi Pongal for all. Those associated with a movie volition observe that film, but it’s bully for cinema erstwhile we observe each other’s films.”

Tirupur Subramaniam, distributor and exhibitor, too, admits that helium volition miss Vijay arsenic a hero. “As an actor, what I liked astir Vijay the most, thing newer generations of stars tin besides learn, is that helium has ever been a commercialized actor, idiosyncratic who cared astir the container office. His lone argumentation is to guarantee that the shaper who invests wealth successful him recovers that wealth and earns a profit. Both Rajinikanth and Vijay person been doing that, and that’s a prime I like,” helium says.

However, Subramaniam is not perturbed astir the retirement; helium calls it an inevitable progression. “Since the times of Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, erstwhile a prima leaves, a caller prima has ever risen to capable those shoes. So portion we are bittersweet that helium is retiring, we are besides assured that idiosyncratic other volition capable his position.” Srither excessively agrees. “I powerfully judge that cinema volition ever thrive adjacent without Vijay. The newer generations of stars volition instrumentality over.”

In fact, Srither believes that Jana Nayagan isn’t his past film. “I can’t divulge wherefore I judge so. Regardless, this movie volition bash truly good astatine the container office. The instrumentality who usually watches a Vijay movie doubly volition ticker this 5 times.” Vicky’s plans with Jana Nayagan archer you that Srither wasn’t exaggerating. “I watched GOAT five times, Varisu six times, Master seven times, and Leo 10 times. I watched some Kushi and Sacheintwice erstwhile they got re-released. I would ticker his films archetypal to celebrate, and during the consequent times, to observe the assemblage astir me. I’m gladsome to cognize that others astir america besides respect idiosyncratic I respect truthful much. For Jana Nayagan, I haven’t fixed a count. I volition ticker it arsenic galore times arsenic imaginable due to the fact that I don’t cognize what the aboriginal holds. Going to a caller Vijay movie isn’t astir whether it’s bully oregon bad. It’s a celebration.”

The instrumentality is rather excited to ticker the H Vinoth directorial due to the fact that it seems to beryllium of the aforesaid benignant arsenic the Vijay commercialized films helium grew up watching. “That is, the films helium was doing betwixt 2003 and 2010. I americium hoping it would beryllium a pakka commercial potboiler.” There person been speculations — enlivened by the precocious released trailer — that Jana Nayagan is the remake of Telugu superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 2023 enactment thriller Bhagavanth Kesari. Vicky says helium wouldn’t caput it adjacent if that were true. “That lone excites maine due to the fact that Bhagavanth Kesari, connected insubstantial astatine least, is simply a movie tailor-made for Vijay. It’s a 10/10 Vijay film.”

In a build-up to his swangsong, Vijay fans are ensuring that determination is capable pre-release buzz. So overmuch truthful that they requested Kamala Cinemas’ Vishnu to play a 2014 Vijay movie (Kaththi) connected this New Year’s Eve, lone for the evening shows to get sold retired wrong 12 minutes of bookings opening. “This is an affectional infinitesimal for each of us. We are excited to ticker his film, but the information that we won’t spot him aft makes it bittersweet,” says Vishnu. He adds. “As a theatre owner, I americium petrified due to the fact that the request for tickets has already skyrocketed. There are lone 1,000 seats successful a screen. How tin we fulfill each those who privation to ticker the First Day First Show?”

Vijay has been a prima who has consistently moulded himself to go what fans privation him to be, but retaining his unsocial core. For fans, this merchandise volition beryllium bittersweet. For, portion we whitethorn not cognize what Naalaiya Theerpu holds, this Pongal belongs to the Jana Nayagan of Tamil cinema.