Tamil superstar Vijay’s Instagram account draws 5 million followers on Day 1
Chennai: Tamil actor Vijay joined Instagram on Sunday night, being the latest in the long list of celebrities to hold accounts on the social media site.
In less than 24 hours, the superstar amassed five million followers, some barely within a few hours of joining the platform.
The 48-year-old actor posted a picture of himself in a black suit in his first post on his Instagram handle and greeted his followers, "Hello Nanbas and Nanbis (Hello friends)."
Fans were delighted with his move to join Instagram and also his post. Many sent him heart emojis expressing joy for the post, while some others even hailed him as ‘Thalaiva’ on the post.
One of the users said, “Nice post Thalapathy”, while another expressed delight that Vijay had joined Instagram ‘at least now’.
While the star has accounts on Twitter and Facebook, he had not been active on the sites for some time now.
Vijay is known for his work in the movie ‘Varisu’. He is currently working on ‘Leo’, which is directed by Lokesh Lanagaraj and is set to release in October.
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I hope football has bright future in India: Messi after "amazing" tour
New Delhi (PTI): Lionel Messi hoped that football has a "bright future" in India and expressed gratitude for the "generous hospitality" that he got here during a whirlwind three-day tour, which had thousands of fans jostling to catch a glimpse of the Argentine genius in four different cities.
Messi, after extending his stay by a day to visit the Anant Ambani-founded Vantara wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre in Jamnagar, left for his base in Miami on Wednesday.
Taking to Instagram, the 38-year-old posted a one-minute highlights clip of the tour, featuring his interactions with Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor Khan and several young footballers.
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"What amazing visits to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. Thank you for the warm reception, generous hospitality, and all the feelings of love with which you surrounded me throughout my tour.
"I hope that football has a bright future in India," he wrote underneath the video.
His good wishes come at a time when Indian football finds itself at its lowest ebb.
The domestic season has been brought to a halt for the want of a commercial partner and the national team's fortunes have been in a free-fall following a string of poor results.
An ongoing court case over administrative issues has further deepened policy paralysis.
The superstar striker, who is among the most recognisable and adored sportspersons in the world, did not play any competitive football during the trip.
He was accompanied by Uruguay great and close friend Luis Suarez and Argentina teammate Rodrigo de Paul during the tour.
Messi made stadium appearances for ticketed events in all the four cities starting with Kolkata, where things turned ugly after politicians and officials surrounded him, denying fans, who had paid thousands for a seat, a clear view of the icon.
Agitated by this, the gathered spectators indulged in vandalism at the Salt Lake Stadium, prompting Messi to be whisked away sooner than the originally planned time.
However, his visits to Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi passed off smoothly as he charmed fans by posing for pictures and showcasing some of his warm-up routines besides playing briefly with young players.
"...we carry all this love with us, and we will definitely return, hopefully one day to play a match or on another occasion, but we will definitely return to visit India," he said after the final leg of the tour in Delhi.
