Vijay hugged Surya Sethupathi after watching his debut film Phoenix; gave ‘bloody sweet’ review

Vijay Sethupathi's son, Surya Sethupathi, debuted this Friday with the action film Phoenix. Here's how actor-politician Vijay reacted after watching it.

Actor-politician Vijay has watched his friend and Master co-star Vijay Sethupathi’s son, Surya Sethupathi’s debut film, Phoenix. Directed by action choreographer-turned-filmmaker Anl Arasu, the film, which also stars Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, apparently impressed Vijay enough to hug Surya.

Surya Sethupathi and Anl Arasu bowled over by Vijay's praise for Phoenix.

Vijay hugs Surya after watching Phoenix

Arasu dropped a picture of him and Surya on X (formerly Twitter), all smiles as they pose for a pic with Vijay, who put his hands on their shoulders. Writing about how Vijay reacted to the film, the debutant director wrote, “Bloody sweet! That’s the vibe after Thalapathy Vijay sir watched #Phoenix and shared his MERSAL MAXX words! The Phoenix is flying on FIRE now!”

Surya also posted the same picture on his X account, thanking Vijay for the hug and his kind words. He wrote, “Thank you Vijay sir. The last hug, the kind words, the warmth and it meant everything. I’ve always looked up to you, and to feel your support on this journey is something I’ll never forget.”

Phoenix, starring Surya in his debut, tells the story of a young wrestler struggling to fight against power-hungry people. Abhinakshathra, J Vignesh, Sampath Raj, Devadarshini, and others play key roles.

Upcoming work

Vijay Sethupathi was most recently seen in Ace. He will soon be seen in Pandiraj’s comedy film Thalaivan Thalaivii, which will be releasing in theatres on 25 July. He also stars in Mysskin’s Train, which is currently in post-production.

Vijay was last seen in Venkat Prabhu’s The GOAT with Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Sneha and Meenakshi Chaudhary as his co-stars. He will be starring in H Vinoth’s political drama, Jana Nayagan, which is touted to be his last film before he enters politics. The film also stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol. Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain, Priyamani, and others in key roles. It will be released for Pongal 2026.

Vijay plans on contesting in the Tamil Nadu elections next year through his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.