CHENNAI: N Vijay was ten years old when he got a rare opportunity that boys his age could only dream of — a chance to watch a Rajinikanth movie being shot. The movie in question was the 2007 blockbuster Shivaji and it was supposed to be a day that Vijay would remember for the rest of his life.
In the end, Vijay did remember the day for the rest of his life, but not because he got to see Rajinikanth. The boy from the slums of Vyasarpadi was at the shoot only because his mother worked there. “After the scene, I saw her coming onto the set and mopping the floor,” he says. “And I felt bad. I decided that one day I would make sure she did not have to do that anymore.”
Fast forward a decade and the boy is now a man all set to carry out that promise. And he’s done that by being really good at kicking a ball around. After six years of playing for free lunches in Chennai’s senior football division and sevens leagues, the 22-year-old has been handed a contract by I-League club Chennai City FC for the upcoming season. The striker has already managed a few appearances for Chennai City in their pre-season friendlies and looks set to be handed more chances in India’s top-flight league. “Most importantly, I can now support my family,” he says.
The road he has trod on has been filled with a lot many thorns. Even when his father worked as an electrician, what his parents earned between them was barely enough to make ends meet. “Then a few years ago, he fell down and hurt his leg really bad,” says Vijay. “The doctors said he needed a knee operation but we couldn’t afford all that. So he has just stayed home after that, confined to his bed.”
He became a football mercenary when he was still in his early teens — playing either for a meagre allowance or a free lunch. “I could not afford boots and all that,” he says. “Obviously I couldn’t ask my family for money. So I would go play in these sevens league where every day, players get `20 for a meal. I would skip the meal, play on an empty stomach and keep that money away to buy boots. After a few months of doing this, I was able to finally buy decent boots.”
Vijay’s talent though meant that he was beginning to make the city’s football scouts sit up and take notice. After playing in Chennai Football Association’s First Division league as a 16-year-old for YMSC Academy, Vijay started playing for Chennai Customs before he had even turned eighteen. Then followed a two-year stint at ICF and a return to Chennai Customs last year. That was when he caught the eye of current Chennai City coach Akbar Nawas who was scouting the CFA leagues for players.
Playing for Chennai City this year will net him a few lakhs but Vijay knows that a lot more will come if he can grab his chances. The slums of Vyasarpadi have already contributed a couple of gems to Indian football in the form of Dhanpal Ganesh and Delhi Dynamos’ Nandha Kumar. Pretty soon, there might be another name added to that list.