Author Manu Joseph, Vijay’s Former Classmate, Slams CM’s ‘Poor Childhood’ Claim

Author-screenwriter Manu Joseph came out strongly against Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and criticized his speech, claiming that he grew up poor. He revealed that the actor turned politician Joseph

“Many wealthy kids confuse being broke with poverty. Two very different things,” the author wrote, adding: “The great bulls of our time are rags-to-riches stories.”

In his first speech as Tamil Nadu chief minister, Vijay said that he grew up in poverty and even knew what hunger was. That’s bullshit because he was my classmate from third grade at Loyola School.
His father was a filmmaker who prepared his son for a career in cinema.

— Manu Joseph (@manujosephsan) May 11, 2026

In his first speech as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Sunday, the TVK chief had said that he was well aware of poverty and hunger as he was born as the son of an ordinary assistant film director who aimed to earn by working hard in cinema.

Vijay’s film debut was as a child artist in his father’s 1984 action crime film. vetri. He continued to appear as a child actor in many more films and made his debut as a leading actor at the age of 18 in the 1992 action movie. Naalaiya Theerpu. The movie was a box office disaster. Vijay’s first break SenthorapandiIt is a 1993 romantic action film directed by his father. He continued to star in his father’s directorial ventures. rashigan (1994), Remedy (1995) and Vishnu (1995). Most of these films were commercially successful.