When Thalapathy Vijay built Shirdi Sai Baba temple for his mother, Shoba Chandrasekhar; Mother's Day 2026 special

Mother’s Day often brings back emotional stories about celebrities and their bond with family, and one such touching story belongs to Vijay. Long before becoming deeply involved in politics and while balancing a busy cinema career, Vijay quietly fulfilled one of his mother Shoba Chandrasekhar’s biggest wishes. The actor reportedly built a Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Chennai especially for her, as she is a strong devotee of Sai Baba and could not travel to Shirdi often. The sweet gesture once again showed the emotional side of the actor beyond his public image and stardom.The temple was built in Chennai’s Korattur area near Venkateshwara Nagar. The temple’s kumbabishekam ceremony reportedly took place in February 2024 and was attended by family members and close associates. According to Shoba Chandrasekhar, she had always wished to build a Sai Baba temple in their own area. Speaking emotionally about it during the ceremony, she shared that Vijay fulfilled her long-time dream by building the temple for her. She also mentioned that she visits the temple every Thursday for prayers and darshan. The emotional story became widely discussed among fans, especially because Vijay had done it quietly without making it a public event.Though Vijay comes from a Christian family background, the actor has often respected all religions equally. For several years, he was reportedly visiting the famous Shirdi Sai Baba Temple regularly whenever possible. As per a report from News 18, the actor wanted to recreate a peaceful spiritual space for his mother in Chennai itself. Initially, there were plans to build the temple near his family-owned theatre property, but the idea later shifted due to metro rail development works in that area. Eventually, the family chose a larger space in Korattur and completed the project there.Nowadays, when Vijay is on the verge of releasing 'Jana Nayagan' and going ahead in his political career, this old incident involving his mother becomes quite important amongst his fans. Although Vijay is known to be the maker of many mass movies and powerful speeches, and has a massive fan base, such instances give us a glimpse of a more emotional Vijay. The building of the temple by him is not just an act of grandeur, but it is also his own emotional and affectionate way of respecting his mother. Vijay's previous film was 'GOAT'.