Producer Archana Kalpathi of AGS Entertainment has opened up about her first meeting and eventual collaboration with actor Vijay, saying he completely changed her long-held belief in the saying, "Never meet your heroes."

Speaking to Touring Talkies, Archana revealed that she had consciously avoided meeting Vijay for years despite her father, AGS Entertainment founder Kalpathi S Aghoram, sharing a cordial relationship with the actor.

"They say, 'Never meet your heroes,' and I believed in that saying. We often build an ideal image of our heroes in our minds, but as human beings, it's difficult for anyone to live up to those expectations. So I deliberately avoided meeting Vijay sir, even though he would visit our home to meet my father or my father would meet him. There were several discussions about collaborating, but they never materialised. In fact, my husband had met Vijay sir more often than I had before we made our first film together," she explained.

That long-awaited collaboration finally happened with Bigil (2019), directed by Atlee. Produced by AGS Entertainment, the sports drama featured Vijay in a dual role as Michael Rayappan and football coach Bigil and went on to become one of the biggest Tamil hits of the year.

Archana said working with Vijay exceeded every expectation she had of the actor. "Only when I started working with him did I realise that he's one of those rare people who actually live up to your expectations—and even surpass them. I was amazed by his work ethic, discipline and, above all, his simplicity. He's incredibly down-to-earth. He carries his own umbrella and doesn't surround himself with an entourage. He genuinely loves the craft of cinema and always strives to give his best."

Recalling Vijay's preparation for Bigil, which revolved around women's football, Archana praised the actor's commitment to authenticity. "For the football sequences in Bigil, even though he wasn't a football player, he learnt the movements himself before performing them. He didn't rely on a body double. He would arrive on set sharp at 7.30 am every day—we had to reach before him because he was always punctual. He would know exactly what was scheduled to be shot and would ask for the dialogue sheets about a week in advance. For me, it was an incredible experience working with such a disciplined artist."

Following the success of Bigil, AGS Entertainment reunited with Vijay for The Greatest of All Time (2024), directed by Venkat Prabhu, marking the banner's second collaboration with the actor after a wait of over a decade since its inception in 2006.