It's no secret that Thalapathy Vijay is popular across South India. The reigning superstar of Tamil Nadu enjoys a strong fandom in Kerala. It turns out that he is gaining in popularity in Karnataka as well.

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The 'Master' actor's fans from Mangalore have built a lifesize statue of Vijay and have brought it to Chennai in order to gift it to him. It is said that the statue will be kept in the Pannaiyur office of the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam permanently.

A few pictures of the local fans garlanding the statue are out. The statue seems to have been designed with the purpose of projecting the 'Sarkar' actor's rugged image.

The 'Mersal' actor, meanwhile, is busy shooting for his new movie 'Beast' directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Sun Pictures. The film has music by Anirudh. The shoot is happening in the Sree Gokulam Studios on the outskirts of Chennai. Earlier this month, Pooja Hegde shook a leg with Vijay for a song in the movie. She is the main heroine of this big-ticket release.