Vidyut’s Street Fighter Hits $51.1M as He Backs Sivakarthikeyan

Vidyut Jammwal has spent years building his reputation as one of Indian cinema’s most credible action performers. Now he is using that credibility to make a prediction: his Madharaasi co-star Sivakarthikeyan is ready to become one of the biggest action stars of his generation.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jammwal credited director A.R. Murugadoss’s judgment as much as Sivakarthikeyan’s own skill. “Siva’s brilliant… Murugadoss would not find somebody who he doesn’t believe is brilliant,” Jammwal said.

The co-star prediction

The two actors shared screen space in the 2025 Tamil action thriller Madharaasi, with Sivakarthikeyan in the lead and Jammwal as the antagonist. Jammwal said his action background gives him a close view of a co-star’s potential.

“I would say he could be one of this generation’s big action stars very soon. I’ve worked with him, and being an action-oriented actor myself, every time I perform with somebody, I know their potential,” he said.

That is not casual praise from a co-star. Jammwal has carried physically intense roles through the Commando franchise and continues to work across Hindi and South Indian cinema.

Thuppakki taught him what a hit feels like

Jammwal also looked back at the film that changed his idea of commercial success. He was the antagonist in Murugadoss’s 2012 Tamil action thriller Thuppakki, headlined by Vijay. At the time, he said, he had no reference point for a blockbuster.

“My experience with Vijay was a little different because that was my first big hit that I had experienced. I didn’t know what a hit was, till ‘Thuppakki’ had released and blew up,” he recalled.

He was confident enough to fly to Chennai on opening night. “The movie had released and it was Friday evening. I was on my flight to Chennai to celebrate the success, because we already knew it was doing so well,” he said. The memory still matters, he suggested, because it gave him an early look at the scale of a theatrical success.

From Murugadoss antagonists to Hollywood

There is a neat line connecting the milestones Jammwal discussed. Murugadoss directed both Thuppakki and Madharaasi, and Jammwal played the antagonist in each. That gave him a front-row view of two Tamil stars at different stages of their careers: Vijay as an established force and Sivakarthikeyan as a fast-rising one.

• Thuppakki (2012): Jammwal’s first major box-office hit, with Vijay.
• Madharaasi (2025): Jammwal plays the antagonist opposite Sivakarthikeyan.
• Street Fighter (2026): Jammwal makes his Hollywood debut as Dhalsim.

Street Fighter’s early numbers

Jammwal’s Hollywood debut, Street Fighter, released internationally in October 2026. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and based on the video game franchise, the film casts him as Dhalsim, the Indian yogi and martial artist. Early Box Office Mojo figures put the film at around USD 51.1 million worldwide, including approximately USD 31 million from its domestic opening.

For Hindi film fans, Jammwal’s arc is a useful case study in how a performer can turn villain roles into a launchpad: first opposite a Tamil superstar, then opposite a rising action hero, and now into a global franchise. Sivakarthikeyan, from Jammwal’s view, may be the next one to make that leap.

Source: The Times of India