With his latest release Ace receiving positive reactions from fans, actor Vijay Sethupathi’s aspiration continues to be stardom.

“I believe I’m a star because I can bring the audience to theatres, engage them, act convincingly, entertain them and make an impact with the story being told,” Vijay says, revealing that his perception of what makes a star is different from the norm.

While he’s known for films such as Merry Christmas (2024), Vikram (2022) and Super Deluxe (2019), the actor has a different way of measuring the success of commercial cinema. He explains, “Commercial cinema is not about those mass appeal elements, but about ensuring we recover the money invested in making the film. [It] should give the audience highs within the story being told and through my performance. This is what I’ve been trying to do.”

Vijay adds that he grateful for the love he gets from fans. “The least I can do for my fans is click a selfie. What else am I going to do for them in life?” he says.

The 47-year-old goes on to reveal that he approaches each film with a “trial and error” mindset and insists he is not risk-averse: “Many people told me not to do villain roles as it would affect my career. Why should I fear? If I had fear, a middle-class boy like me would not have ventured into cinema. I can’t be in a safe zone all the time, where acting is concerned.”