CM Vijay to flag off Le Mans race Ajith Kumar is taking part in; fans shocked given 3 decades of rumoured rivalry

Both Vijay and Ajith Kumar have worked for over three decades in the Tamil film industry, with their fans often warring on social media and offline.

It has been three decades since Vijay and Ajith Kumar began their careers in the Tamil film industry and became stars in their own right. While the former became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the latter went back to racing cars, there has always been a perceived rivalry between the two. So, fans received the shock of their lives when it was announced that Vijay will flag off a Le Mans race that Ajith is competing in.

Ajith Kumar will compete in the Le Mans race that will be flagged off by CM C Joseph Vijay.

Vijay to flag off Le Mans race, Ajith Kumar to compete

The official social media accounts of Le Mans Cup announced that Vijay has been invited to wave the ceremonial green flag at the upcoming race. They wrote, “A special guest will be waving the green flag at Silverstone this weekend! C. Joseph VIJAY.”

They further added, “The Indian actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu @actorvijay, will be joining us to support our Indian drivers in the UK and officially start the #SilverstoneRound in front of the 44-car grid. We can’t wait to go racing this Saturday! #LMC #Michelin,”

Ajith Kumar Racing also confirmed that he would take part in the Le Mans by posting a video on track and writing, “Before the cars roar, the team walks every inch of Silverstone..Reading the kerbs, the cambers, the braking zones. This is where the race really begins.”

Ajith Kumar, Vijay’s warring fans shocked

The news left fans shocked, as they have been warring online and offline for years now, given Ajith and Vijay’s perceived rivalry. “Two generations of anil-aamais who fought for 2.5 decades realising their whole life was a scam,” wrote one fan, reacting to the news. “imagine showing this to a random anil or aamai in the 2010s,” wrote another. Anils (squirrel) is a term used by rival fans to mock Vijay’s fans. Similarly, the term aamai (tortoise/turtle) is used by rival groups to refer to Ajith fans.

“Never imagined Ajith and Vijay fans would unite together,” wrote one excited fan posting a happy clip of Karthi and Arvind Swamy from Meiyazhagan. “Only the rivalry group knows the value of this meet, It's been almost 3 decades of the hate & war, its now officially gonna end for good. COLDEST Collab on cards,” wrote another. One fan even wrote, “Before AK Racing and VJ TVK eras, this duo witnessed peak offline and social media fan wars. In TN every groups would have Anils and Aamais. We expected this reunion much earlier but it is happening now. So putting hatred aside, let's enjoy this moment.”

In February this year, Shalini Ajith Kumar spoke about the actors’ equation with each other and said, “It’s a good relationship; they both are very happy for each other’s success and everything. It’s beautiful.” Ajith also spoke about the rumoured rivalry in past interviews, stating that he has only ever wished Vijay well.