Perseverance, determination, versatility, dedication, and favourite - all these are attributed recently to one person by the fans of Tamil Cinema. None but Vijay Sethupathi can yield them with ease just as he takes on every role and portrays them with ease. I am not talking about the person who was a below average student at school, who graduated with no ambition and then did many stint jobs before he joined Koothupattarai until he decided to take up acting as a career. No! I am going to write about the stage actor who wanted to start from scratch, one of the extras in movies who waited in patience, the supporting artist who used the minimum space given to him at its best, the actor whom he has become and who is still grooming himself to be better every minute, the performer who aces every role and the star who is loved by all.

The very task of going to study acting in Koothupattarai tells how methodical he was in aspiring to be an actor. He knew he had to learn the craft before he mastered it. He started to audition for minor roles in films which landed him in a small role in Pudhupettai. He then started making acquaintances with aspiring filmmakers that helped him and his team to take notice in the Nalaya Iyakunar television reality.

I love one thing the most about the actor. That is, right from the beginning when people started noticing him, he started to feel responsible which is a very important trait to great actors. He was noticed by Suseenthiran for his support roles in Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu and Naan Mahaan Alla and recommended by him to Seenu Ramasamy. Seenu Ramasamy went on to cast him as his lead actor in Thenmerku Paruvakaatru that bagged three national awards. We then started to see Vijay Sethupathi take up roles that would bat the eye of the audience and prove his merit too. Sundarapandian was a good choice in proving his take over playing an antagonist.

Vijay Sethupathi started gaining fans more by his performance in Pizza where he proved he can be versatile, his performance in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom, Soodhu Kavvum, and movies to follow helped him to take off to the heights he had reached today. Every film about the actor had something new in store for the audience to like him. He challenged himself in a new way every time and that created so much excitement to everyone.

The most important thing he is loved for is his innate quality to be one among the audience. Even when he is portraying a role on the screen, it feels like watching one of us do something awesome and that gives all the fans a great adrenaline rush and excitement to watch him. People love personalities that resemble them. Vijay Sethupathi can be boldly pointed out as one actor in the present generation who can connect with most people.

The simplicity the actor adorns, the ease he has in acting and the work and energy he puts deserve the love he gets. He doesn’t take success for granted and that tells a lot about the person and the star he is. He accepts praise but he doesn’t take it to his head and he knows how to satisfy his fans. He is someone whom even the fans of others stars adore. Fans are yet to find reasons to hate him. Vijay Sethupathi sure has laid his own path and stands inspirational to many young actors and filmmakers and this will be the best reason why he is in the receiving end of all the applause. To the great performer, amazing actor, inspiring human, Makkal Selvan, we wish a very happy birthday.