Ilaiyathalapathy Vijay was the first among the leading Tamil superstars to come forward in support of Jallikattu. Though many from the film fraternity have come forward to support the protests, it has been met with a lukewarm response. But Vijay received support online after pictures of him at Marina surfaced. On Friday night, Vijay went to join thousands of supporters at Marina beach.

While the rest of Tamil film fraternity chose to observe a day-long silent protest at the Nadigar Sangam premises, Vijay thought it best not to participate, as he did not want the limelight to shift from the main Marina Beach protest.

Those who did participate in the Nadigar protest too made sure they stayed out of media coverage for the same reason.

Going by the few pictures that are in circulation online, Vijay is seen with a kerchief tied around his face, seated right among the protestors at Marina with not much ado. 

The pictures have sent his diehard fans into a tizzy, with many deeply touched by this gesture of solidarity on the part of their favourite matinee idol.

Apparently Vijay was supposed to take part in the Asianet Awards in Chennai as a special guest on Friday. He however chose to opt out and instead joined the protesting masses, thereby earning their respect and love.

Presently, Vijay is reportedly gearing up for the shoot of his next project with Atlee due in February. The hit duo is all set to reunite after the blockbuster Theri. The project also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha and Jyotika in important roles.

As youth masses bypass Stars, Stars descend on the #Marina in d wee hours. Star fasting evoked lukewarm crowd yaday #jallikattu #Vijay pic.twitter.com/p460BmbTpF

— Arun Janardhanan (@arunjei) January 21, 2017