'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
For more than two decades, Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar -- better known as Thalapathy Vijay -- has dominated the silver screen.
A string of blockbusters -- 10 in a row and counting -- has crowned him the highest paid actor in India, with a paycheck for his film, Leo, topping Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billio), and an even heftier sum of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) for his new release, The Greatest of All Time (GOAT).
Yet Vijay's ambitions now stretch beyond cinema.
His decision to enter Tamil Nadu politics has stirred a question on everyone's mind: Can he succeed where megastars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan faltered?
When Vijay announced his political party, the Thamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), on February 2 this year, he indicated that he would stop acting in movies after GOAT and another untitled film, and take a full leap into politics.
Last month marked his official entrance into politics when he unveiled a party anthem and flag, which is a departure from the traditional Dravidian colour palette of red, black, and white.
Instead, the TVK's flag sports two tuskers with a flower (Vaagai) at the centre and includes maroon colour with a yellow band in between -- a nod to Tamil kings of the Sangam Age when they wore garlands made of Vaagai flowers to celebrate victories on battlefields.
'I don't see it as a mere flag of a party. Rather, I see it as a flag of the victory of future generations of Tamil Nadu,' Vijay said, addressing his followers as 'thozhargal (comrades)'.
With the 2026 assembly elections in view, Vijay's political ambitions seem unmistakably serious.
The list of Tamil film stars who tested political waters include veterans like S S Rajendran, Sivaji Ganesan, M G Ramachandran (MGR), J Jayalalithaa, Captain Vijayakanth and Kamal Haasan.
Vijay's shift into politics was far from sudden. In fact, his political ambitions can be traced back to 2009, when he launched his fan club -- Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI). It supported the AIADMK, then under the late J Jayalalithaa, in 2011.
Later that year, he met social activist Kisan Baburao 'Anna' Hazare during the latter's fast for a Jan Lokpal Bill at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, and hinted at his political stance through films like Mersal that took veiled jabs at both the Bharatiya Janata Party and AIADMK.
According to Bussy Anand, general secretary of the VMI and a former Congress MLA, the party wants to project Vijay as chief minister in the run-up to the 2026 elections.
The actor is expected to contest from Thoothukudi or Nagapattanam.
Still, Vijay faces a daunting task. The success stories of Tamil cinema icons turned politicians -- MGR, Jayalalithaa and Vijayakanth -- are far from guaranteed to repeat.
Rajinikanth's own attempt to establish a political foothold crumbled under the weight of health issues and disillusionment.
Kamal Haasan, despite a notable film career, struggled to make electoral gains, with his Makkal Needhi Maiam falling flat in both state and national elections.
Vijay is entering a realm where charisma alone will not suffice.
Tamil Nadu's political arena is dominated by the DMK and AIADMK, two deeply entrenched parties with decades of electoral machinery at their disposal.
Unlike MGR, who had deep roots in the Dravidian political movement, Vijay's platform is still a work in progress.
His past hints at progressive leanings -- opposing caste divisions and religious divides -- but these are yet to be shaped into a coherent political ideology.
"It's a difficult road ahead for Vijay," observes senior political analyst Sumanth Raman.
"There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over," says Raman.
"Vijay has the advantage of being a big star. When he speaks, people will listen, but after that, it's all about how he proves himself as a politician. What is his ideology?" explains Raman.
"What policies is he putting forward? These things must be clear. Just being a star won't be enough," Raman adds.
Vijay has, however, tasted some electoral success. In the 2021 local body elections, the VMI won 68 per cent of the seats it contested (115 of 169 seats).
Political analyst R Venkatesh, a faculty member at the University of Madras, notes that age may be one of Vijay's key assets.
"Rajinikanth tried to enter politics in his 70s, Kamal Haasan in his 60s, but Vijay is in his late 40s (the actor turned 50 in June this year) -- this is the right time for him," says Venkatesh.
"He's positioned himself as anti-caste and anti-religion, but how he develops this ideology at the grassroots level remains to be seen."
Rajinikanth's much-hyped entry into politics, via the Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), ended in disappointment. Health concerns led him to dissolve the party in 2021.
Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam secured only 2.8 per cent of the vote in the 2021 state assembly polls and 3.7 per cent in the 2019 general election.
One exception to this trend over the past two decades was the late Vijayakanth, founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK).
His party, launched in 2005, won 8.4 per cent of the vote in the 2006 state elections, with Vijayakanth himself securing the Virudhachalam seat.
Although DMDK faltered in the 2009 general election, it bounced back in 2011 when it allied with the AIADMK and the Left, winning 29 out of 40 seats it contested and becoming the second-largest party in the state.
"Politics isn't an easy field for actors," warns Ramu Manivannan, former head of the University of Madras' department of politics and public administration.
"MGR had a long history in the Dravidian movement before he entered politics. M Karunanidhi was into politics for a long time, before coming to movies."
Experts cite that the difference between MGR and others may well be the fact that when he left the DMK to form the AIADMK, after C N Annadurai's death, he took along with him a set of followers who were deep into politics.
But others like Rajinikanth and Kamal relied on their heterogeneous fan base, but that isn't always enough.
Vijay must think carefully about how to build a solid political foundation.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
