A 12-year-old photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has resurfaced on social media, with users discussing the major changes in Vijay’s public life since the image was taken.
The photograph was originally posted by Prime Minister Modi on X on April 16, 2014. It shows Modi seated beside Vijay, who was then a leading actor in Tamil cinema. Modi had described him in the accompanying caption as a “noted film personality in the south”.
While sharing the old image, one X user wrote, “Never kill yourself, lot can happen in 12 years.” The post received thousands of likes and hundreds of reposts, with many users responding to the contrast between Vijay’s career at the time and his subsequent political rise.
“True. Live your life whether it’s good or bad. You never know what happens,” one user commented. Another wrote that Vijay had already been a superstar when the photograph was taken.
Vijay, who is counted among Tamil cinema’s biggest stars, later entered politics and established the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). He subsequently became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, completing a significant shift from the film industry to the state’s highest political office.
The image has attracted fresh interest following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Chennai on Sunday, where he and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister appeared together on stage. During the visit, the Prime Minister inaugurated development projects valued at more than Rs 13,000 crore and participated in several events with the Chief Minister.
One of the key projects inaugurated during the visit was the Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch of Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project. Constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 4,900 crore, the corridor features a 3.7-km double-decker structure and is expected to strengthen connectivity in parts of Chennai.
The same photograph had also circulated earlier during campaigning for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
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