Actor Vijay broke his 10 year TV-interview hiatus, when he sat down with Beast director Nelson Dilipkumar for a a tete-a-tete. The Beast duo appeared on Sun TV, as the Sun Pictures produced movie couldn't conduct an audio launch for fans. Beast releases in theaters on April 13, 2022 and here are some major highlights from the interview which was titled Vijayudan Nerkku Ner and was all around cool and casual.

• Director Nelson Dilipkumar opened the interview with the most obvious question about Vijay's decade long hiatus from interviews. Vijay explained, "I am not that busy a person that I cannot allocate time to meet the press or give interviews..You could say one of the reasons was an incident that happened 10-11 years ago. An interview I had given was either published or projected in a different context. That was when I decided to go silent and it extended."

• A shocked Nelson then prodded him about details of the incident and Vijay said, "I wanted to say something but when it transcribed in writing it came out as harsh. When I read it, it didn't sound like me. Even my close friends and family said it sounded too arrogant. I could explain to them that what I said and what came out was different. But I couldn't do the same with the readers..That's when I went silent..In recent times, whatever I have to convey, I convey it through audio functions."
  

• Vijay said that he doesn't like to talk about his own movies and instead waits for feedback from others about how each of his films have turned out. Talking about his director Nelson Vijay complimented, "You (Nelson) are a very clear director. I have seen that (clarity) in a few directors I've worked with and you are one of them. I am not saying this just because you are here."

• About Pooja Hegde: "Everyone who sees us says that the pairing is good and fresh. She is very professional. There is absolutely no issues with her. She comes, she does her work. It was interesting to see her take the strain of preparing for her Tamil dialogues."

• Vijay was visibly excited to talk about Anirudh. He said, "Ani is at a peak right now. Whatever he touches is impactful. And he keeps surprising. He gives something and when you wonder what next, he goes a step above...Also with Anirudh, he never relaxes knowing he has done so much. That hard-work is constant with each and everything..He's too good."

• Vijay also imparted some life lessons during the interview. Some notable quotes from the interview:
  • "If you miss an opportunity, don't fill your eyes with tears. It will hide another better opportunity in front of you."
    
  • "One life. Be jolly. take it easy, make it easy."
    
  • "We should either be a player in a game or a cheer-leader for a player in the game. We should never be the one who just criticizes."

• This isn't a surprise for his Tamil fans given Tamil Nadu is quite tolerant to different faiths and religions, but Vijay put an end to all the extremists' scrutiny of his full name 'Joseph Vijay'. Nelson brought up Vijay visiting a Church during their Georgia shoot, and the actor had this to say,

"I am firm believer (of God). I go to Church and get a good feel. Not just that I visit Pillayar (Vinayagar) temples, other (Hindu) temples. During the shooting of Kaththi, I went and visited Ameen Peer Darga (a place of Islam worship). I get the same divine feel whether it is a church or temple or Darga. My mom is a Hindu, my dad is Christian. I was never told to go one place and not the other. I follow the same with my kids."

• Vijay has been in an open feud with his father director SA Chandrasekar for a while now. Not much is known about this family rift except that it is over Vijay and politics. The actor was quite casual about this topic and said, "Dads are like roots of the tree for each family. We know that importance not as a son but when we have a son. Any good quality in me has come from him (SA Chandrashekar)."

• Talking about his political aspirations, Vijay went cryptic and said, "It was fans who turned an ordinary actor into Thalapathy (as he is fondly known). Whether or not they intend to turn this Thalapathy into Thalaivan (leader) is also upto them and the situations. If you ask me I like being Vijay but if change is inevitable, then one has to change."
  

• Talking about his own son Sanjay and his acting debut, Vijay confirmed that there have been offers but Sanjay wants two years before he can take that call. The actor revealed hat Premam director Alphonse Puthren had a boy-next-door story for Sanjay, which Vijay desired his son would do. But the youngster is focussed on other things right now, and Vijay has said that it is upto his son to decide whether to be in front or at the back of the camera.
  

• Vijay revealed his script selection process by stating that he never hears the one-line before a script-narration. He never decides over a 5-10 minute narration and is always interested in listening to atleast 75% of the story. The actor is also particular about the 'package' of a movie fitting in and not just being inserted for sellability.
  

• Vijay has clarified that his next Thalapathy 66 with director Vamshi Paidipally and producer Dil Raju is a direct Tamil film and not a Telugu or bilingual movie. However it will be dubbed in Telugu.

• Vijay ended the interview with his signature 'Kutti Story' (short story) that is an usual highlight during his film's audio launch functions. The story goes. "The football asked the flute - You and I both have the same air flowing through us but you are taken in hand and kissed, whereas I am only kicked. Why is that? The flute answered - The air that you have is used only by you, you don't give it to others. So you get kicked. But I turn the air that I receive into music and give it to others. Those who give to others will be kissed. Anyone who is self-centered and not helpful to others will be kicked like you."
  

Vijayudan Nerukku Ner can also be streamed for free on Sun Nxt OTT platform [link here]