I gave up cinema to stand up for fans who offered me everything, including ''kottai'': Vijay
Chennai (PTI): At the much-awaited audio launch event of his movie 'Jana Nayagan' in Malaysia, actor-politician Vijay has said he decided to "give up cinema" to "stand up" for his fans who offered him everything, including a 'kottai' (fort).
In Tamil Nadu, the word 'Kottai' (meaning fort) symbolises someone's bastion as well as Fort St George, a British-built fortress, that houses the state’s legislative Assembly, Secretariat and Chief Minister’s office since independence.
"When I entered the cinema, I thought I was building a small sand house here. But you all have built me a palace. Fans helped me build a fort… That’s why I’ve decided to stand for them. For the fans who gave up everything for me, I’m giving up cinema itself," the actor said.
The audio launch was organised at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on December 27, drawing nearly 1 lakh fans and entering the Malaysian Book of Records for the largest audience at such an event. Malaysia is home world's largest Tamil diaspora after Sri Lanka.
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Thanking Malaysian fans particularly, Vijay said, “If you want to succeed in life, you may not need friends, but you need a strong enemy. Only when there's a strong enemy, you become stronger. So, in 2026, history will repeat. Let us be ready to welcome it for the people. Thank you, Malaysia."
Billed as 'Thalapathy Thiruvizha', the five-to-six-hour extravaganza marked Vijay's cinematic farewell before his political innings.
The event featured live performances and emotional speeches amid tightened security and a strict no-politics directive from Malaysian police. Singers like Tippu, Anuradha Sriram, and Saindhavi electrified the stage, building on hits like singles "Thalapathy Kacheri" and "Oru Pere Varalaaru," which had already won fan acclaim.
Industry veterans got emotional while talking about their interactions with the mega star.
Veteran actor Nasser delivered a tearful speech, thanking Vijay for aiding his son's recovery and supporting Nadigar Sangam construction. He invoked Vijay's “Pokkiri” dialogue, stating that the star lives true to his dialogue, “Oru Thadava Mudivu Pannita”, (once I made up my mind…). But he urged Vijay to make an exception this time and reconsider retirement, as he is "critic-proof" and irreplaceable for fans and the industry.
Actor Pooja Hegde, Vijay's co-star in the film, recalled how professional and humble he is and expressed her sadness over his final film. Their first film together, “Beast”, gave her a forever hit in the song “Arabic Kuthu”, she added, thanking the fans.
Speaking at the event, the director of the film, H Vinoth, promised 100% entertainment despite low hype.
This film's Music director, Anirudh Ravichander, delivered a 45-minute tribute with medleys of the hits of actor. Legends of Tamil cinema, directors Atlee, Nelson and Lokesh Kanagaraj, shared their experiences with the actor.
The apolitical gathering, permitted strictly as entertainment, highlighted Vijay's global pull three years after his last Malaysia visit.
'Jana Nayagan', starring Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Prakash Raj, Gautham Menon, Priyamani, and Naren, releases worldwide on January 9, 2026, for Pongal, clashing with Prabhas' "The Raja Saab" and Red Giant Movies' "Parasakthi" starring Sivakarthikeyan.
The audio launch event will be telecast on Zee Tamil on January 4, 2026.
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Mule bank accounts frozen in crackdown on cyber fraudsters in Karnataka, 68 held
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka State Cyber Command has arrested 68 people as part of a statewide drive against mule bank accounts and “mule herders” involved in cyber fraud, officials said on Friday.
The special operations, which have been continuing since last week across Karnataka, targeted networks engaged in aggregating and selling mule bank accounts used for cyber crimes.
The arrests were made between December 2025 and February 2026, police said in an updated report.
“The Karnataka Cyber Command has conducted statewide special operations against Mule accounts and mule herders across Karnataka. The special drive has continued since last week and this is an updated report,” the department said in a statement.
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Police said the investigation identified a network of “mule herders” — individuals who aggregate and misuse mule bank accounts — who were retailing and selling such accounts to cyber criminals.
A total of 68 key accused and suspects have been arrested during the period.
According to the statement, mule herders had collected personal information and documents from unsuspecting laypersons and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives.
“These accounts were operated in a business-like manner,” it added.
As part of the crackdown, police registered 60 cases and identified 869 mule accounts across the state. As many as 8,788 complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against the identified mule accounts.
The total money involved in all NCRP-linked crimes stood at Rs 85.05 crore, of which Rs 13.43 crore has been put on hold, the Cyber Command said.
During the drive, police obtained 32 search warrants and conducted 35 searches. In the searches, 35 ATM cards, 37 passbooks, 80 mobile phones, 28 cheque books and 22 SIM cards were seized, along with other incriminating materials, officials said. Pronab Mohanty, the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Cyber Command) supervised the special drive, police added.
