With Tamil superstar Vijay emerging as a major political force in Tamil Nadu, noted writer Gopi Mohan says the actor’s remarkable cinema journey was significantly powered by successful Telugu remakes that transformed him into a mass hero across South India.
“Vijay has created a huge political wave in Tamil Nadu and appears set to enter an entirely new arena. We wish him the very best,” says Gopi Mohan. “Just like he carefully built his film career step by step, he is now approaching politics with the same confidence and mass appeal.”
According to the writer, Telugu cinema played a crucial role in Vijay’s rise to superstardom. “Vijay has to thank Telugu stories for his meteoric rise, along with the efforts of Tamil directors who presented him brilliantly on screen,” he says. “He began his successful phase with films like Priyamaanavale, Youth, and Badri, which were remakes of Telugu hits Pavitra Bandham, Chirunavvutho, and Badri. Those films helped him steadily widen his fan base.”
Gopi Mohan believes Vijay’s career took a massive leap when he adapted Mahesh Babu’s blockbuster Telugu films Okkadu and Pokiri into Tamil as Ghilli and Pokkiri.
“Both Vijay and Mahesh Babu belonged to the same generation and enjoyed tremendous mass appeal. Vijay smartly selected Telugu commercial entertainers that blended action, romance and emotion, whereas Mahesh largely stayed away from remakes. That strategy worked wonders for Vijay,” he explains.
Interestingly, the remake exchange also benefited Telugu stars. Pawan Kalyan delivered hits by remaking Vijay’s Love Today as Suswagatham and Sivakasi as Annavaram. Likewise, Nagarjuna Akkineni found success with Nuvvu Vastavani, a remake of Vijay’s Thulladha Manamum Thullum.
“Still, Vijay consistently relied on Telugu stories during key phases of his rise and converted them into major commercial successes,” Gopi Mohan notes.
Over the years, Vijay has also built a strong market in the Telugu states through direct and dubbed releases such as Thuppakki, Master, and Leo. “Today, his films comfortably collect over ₹22 crore share in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. With Jana Nayagan, which is reportedly inspired by Telugu hit Bhagavanth Kesari, he could easily cross the ₹25 crore mark, although he still trails slightly behind Rajinikanth’s market in the Telugu region,” he concludes.
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