Overview
- On Monday, Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay met Lance Naik Meenatchi Sundaram and handed him a cheque for ₹48 lakh in recognition of his Kirti Chakra award.
- Video and photo clips from the meeting show Vijay picking up and playing with the soldier’s baby, and those images have been widely shared on social media.
- Meenatchi received the Kirti Chakra from President Droupadi Murmu on June 8 for continuing to fight after sustaining bullet wounds to his face and shoulder during a December 2024 counterterrorism operation in Kulgam.
- Vijay’s personal life remains a separate public story: his wife Sangeeta Sornalingam’s divorce petition was heard at the Chengalpattu Mahila Court and the next in-person hearing was adjourned to August 7, 2026.
- Vijay’s final film Jana Nayagan is still awaiting CBFC certification after being sent to the revising committee; the movie was leaked online in April and that breach prompted arrests and ongoing legal action, which could affect its release and the actor’s media spotlight.