Actor Vijay’s father SA Chandrasekar rejects reports of him joining BJP

Following reports of him joining the BJP in a few days, actor-director SA Chandrasekar categorically denied any such impending move from him. Speaking to TNM, SA Chandrasekar rubbished the rumours when contacted to find out if there is any truth to it. “I have received a few other calls today as well. It is not true,” he stated categorically, adding that he is not joining the BJP as stated by a few reports. The clarification from the director is significant given the anti-establishment stance his son actor Vijay has taken in many of his recent movies.

SA Chandrasekar has consistently hinted about his son’s political entry in various previous instances. Actor Vijay has been at the receiving end of several jibes about his religion from the Tamil Nadu BJP in the past. The speculation seems to have started after actor Khusboo who was with the Congress shifted allegiance to the BJP. Kushboo joined the BJP in an event held at New Delhi on Monday.

Vijay’s 2017-flick Mersal invited strong opposition from the supporters of BJP since it criticised the healthcare system of the country. The same film also critically referred to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which was new at that point in time. Following these, the then General Secretary of BJP H Raja addressed the actor by his full name (Joseph Vijay) and called the film a ‘Christian conspiracy’ against the ruling dispensation.While BJP leaders demanded that the controversial scenes be removed from the film, the real issue began when H Raja ‘exposed’ Vijay’s religion. Raja contended that Vijay is a practising Christian and hence should have said ‘Build hospitals instead of churches’ instead of ‘build hospitals instead of temples’ in the film.

Vijay has been targeted even after Mersal, most recently when Income Tax searches happened in his house in Chennai which was alleged to have political motives behind it. Vijay, who was in Neyveli shooting for his upcoming movie Master, was also taken in for questioning by the officers of the department. However, reports stated that the Income Tax department removed the prohibitory orders placed on Vijay’s house after they found that he had paid all taxes properly.