Breaking his silence, Tamil actor Vijay has issued a statement, thanking his fans and supporters for defending his controversial film 'Mersal'. Interestingly, in his message, for the first time, the actor used his full Christian name, C. Joseph Vijay, according to a report.
H Raja, a national secretary of the BJP and Tamil Nadu, had recently drawn flak by posting on Twitter a photo of Vijay's voter ID card and official letterhead to stress that the popular star is a Christian and his full name is C Vijay Joseph, asserting the reason for the actor's latest film Mersal containing dialogues critical of new national tax GST, introduced by the BJP government at the Centre in July.
“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,” Vijay wrote in the statement, adding: "There was also some opposition to 'Mersal'.
The Indian Express reported that 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 told the newspaper.
Interestingly, three days ago when Vijay admitted his son to school he left the columns of religion and caste vacant, actor’s father SA Chandrasekhar, also a familiar face in the Tamil film industry, told The Indian Express.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former Union minister P Chidambaram, DMK working president MK Stalin, veteran star Kamal Haasan and a host of Tamil cinema industry representatives had supported the film crew on the issue.
Superstar Rajinikanth had said on Twitter that the film addressed an important issue.
(With PTI inputs)
