Thalapathy Vijay’s selfie with his fans is most retweeted on Twitter in 2020

Twitter India released the top trends for the year 2020, and Tamil actor Vijay’s selfie with fans in Neyveli emerged as most retweeted with 145.7K retweets. As Twitter published its recap for 2020 with the hashtag #ThisHappened2020, Vijay’s tweet from February 10 where he has tweeted “Thank you Neyveli” with a photo of himself and his fans in the background has topped the list. 

The selfie that went viral before physical distancing due to COVID-19 was mandated in the country was taken by the Kollywood star from on top of his vanity van with in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, while shooting for his film, Master. The background shows a huge crowd of fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of Vijay. The tweet had trended for several days in February when it was first posted.  

The most Retweeted Tweet of 2020
2020 में सबसे ज्यादा रीट्वीट हुआ ट्वीट
2020ம் ஆண்டின்அதிகம் ரிடுவீட் செய்யப்பட்டடுவீட் pic.twitter.com/JpCT4y6fJm

— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) December 8, 2020

Vijay's selfie was seen as a response to the Income Tax Department conducting raids on him and his financier. The selfie was after Vijay was questioned for two days over his salary from his film, Bigil, and the profits the film made. Vijay was accompanied by I-T officials from the movie's sets to his house in Chennai. Later, when the actor came back to the same set and clicked this picture, it went viral. Through this period, state BJP leaders kept targeting Vijay, casting aspersions on his income and his movies. Tamil Nadu BJP state unit members conducted protests after the selfie was taken and tweeted by Vijay. 

The protesting BJP members said that they were protesting against permission granted to the filmmakers to shoot in the “highly secure” area which is also a mining belt. Right-wing Twitter accounts had also targeted the actor, calling him ‘Joseph Vijay’, which could be a reason why it was retweeted extensively.