Director and writer Rathna Kumar has always openly admired Vijay and often spoken about the positive experiences he shared with him on film sets. Rathna Kumar worked closely with Vijay in 'Master' and 'Leo' along with director Lokesh Kanagaraj. Recently, Rathna Kumar recalled a memorable birthday moment with Vijay that has now become viral among fans online.
Rathna Kumar recalls Vijay's fun birthday call
Sharing the funny moment in a chat with Chitra Lakshmanan, Rathna Kumar said, “Vijay sir called me on my birthday and acted like Lokesh Kanagaraj during the call. But within seconds, I found out it was him and called him ‘sir.’” He further revealed that Vijay later laughed and told him, “I asked Loki how you both usually address each other, and he said ‘Machi.’ I tried it, but got caught.” Rathna Kumar also shared that Vijay arranged a cake-cutting celebration for him on the sets of “Master,” making the birthday even more special. “He made the whole experience memorable for me,” Rathna added while speaking about the actor’s caring gesture.
Rathna Kumar praises Vijay's calm and friendly nature on the sets
Rathna Kumar also praised Vijay’s behavior during the shooting of “Master.” He said many college students worked as junior artists in the film, and Vijay surprisingly knew almost every student and their work on YouTube and Instagram. Rathna explained that whenever Vijay was on set, the atmosphere never felt stressful or tense. Since “Master” was shot in New Delhi and “Leo” was filmed in Kashmir, there was less public crowd pressure during filming. Because of this, Rathna said everyone got to see a completely different side of Vijay, calm, peaceful, and very easygoing with the team members.
Vijay's support helped Rathna Kumar gain more recognition
During the Leo shoot, Rathna Kumar also showed Vijay a video of his children and spoke about meeting him years ago during the shooting of Priyamudan when he was a child. After seeing the old photograph, Vijay jokingly reacted with surprise at how much Rathna had grown over the years. Rathna Kumar also emotionally remembered how Vijay mentioned his films Meyadha Maan and Aadai during the “Master” audio launch. According to Rathna, Vijay did not have to mention his work publicly, but that single gesture gave him huge recognition and respect in the Tamil film industry.
Director Rathna Kumar is next preparing to deliver '29,' and the film featuring Vidhu and Preethi Asrani in the main roles is slated to release on May 8.
