Vijay’s plunge into politics: Box Office hits no guarantee at ballot

To be fair, Vijay (49), who is in the acme of his career as one of the highest-paid actors in the country, has hit the right buttons by opting to quit films and work full-time in politics, possibly realising that people don’t see actors as demi-gods like in the 1970s or 1980s and judge them only by their work in the rough and tumble of politics.

“Politics is not yet another profession for me. In my opinion, it is a sacred people’s service.” This was popular Tamil actor Vijay promising to be a full-time politician after completing a film, while announcing the launch of his party, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).

Actors taking the political plunge by launching political parties is not a new phenomenon in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

While a couple of them have made an indelible mark dominating the state’s political landscape and occupying the Chief Minister’s chair, several have made a hasty return to the tinsel town after realising that their on-screen popularity is no guarantee for a successful political career.

To be fair, Vijay (49), who is in the prime of his career as one of the highest-paid actors in the country, has hit the right buttons by opting to quit films and work full-time in politics, possibly realising that people don’t see actors as demi-gods like in the 1970s or 1980s and judge them only by their work in the rough and tumble of politics.

A few hundred followers of Vijay are already working on the ground as councillors after having been elected as independents, while the fan club association, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, has booth-level workers, which could make things easy for the new political party to increase its support base.

The inevitable comparison with MGR

And the question that is on everyone’s mind is whether Vijay will re-create the magic of legends M G Ramachandran and N T Ramarao, who have been most successful or end up as a Vijayakanth or a Chiranjeevi, who couldn’t sustain beyond a point.

MGR and NTR stormed to power in the very first elections their parties, AIADMK and TDP, contested, while Vijayakanth and Chiranjeevi proved there was space for a third party to grow in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

For the masses, MGR was the god-sent who could never err and NTR was their devudu (god) for his on-screen avatars of Lord Ram and Krishna.

“MGR defies all analyses,” R Kannan, the matinee-idol-turned-CM’s biographer, told DH.

“He was a unique phenomenon who can never be compared with anyone. MGR was part of the public consciousness for years together, he was the do-gooder, messiah of the masses and his political entry was methodical,” Kannan said.

‘Films were political capital for MGR’

For MGR, the 150-odd films he acted in – a majority of which spoke of equality and social justice planks of the DMK -- mounted a huge capital, catapulting him to the CM’s chair. “MGR nurtured his fans and audience who became his vote bank instantly. He had a strong ideology (Dravidian) that helped him,” senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH.

Though NTR’s success was much bigger than that of MGR’s as he rode to power on the aatma gowravam (self-esteem) plank within eight months of launching TDP, his celestial status was “demystified” in his later years, Kannan, who is also the biographer of DMK founder C N Annadurai, said.

“But MGR remained in the Chief Minister’s chair till his last breath. Chiranjeevi couldn’t achieve what NTR could because he didn’t have anything to ride on,” Kannan added. Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi’s brother, will be tested in Andhra Pradesh politically this Summer.

Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam ended up as a one-election party after it merged with the Congress, and late Vijayakanth’s DMDK exists with a mere 0.45 per cent vote share. Kamal Haasan, who vowed to end “darkness” in TN with torch light (party symbol), is reduced to knocking at the doors of the DMK for a couple of Lok Sabha seats.

Kamal’s super-senior, Sivaji Ganesan, too couldn’t handle the political heat that he merged his Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani with the then Janata Dal.

Jayalalithaa’s story was altogether different as she inherited the AIADMK from her mentor MGR and nurtured it for three decades. Rajinikanth kept the ‘will he, won’t he’ guessing game alive for a quarter century, before giving the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to not enter politics.

Right signals from Vijay

Vijay, who has age on his side, appears to be sincere in his political journey as he talks about ushering in a “fundamental political change” and not a “regime change” instantly, at least for now.

Singh said people’s fatigue with Dravidian parties and yearning for a change, combined with the “gaping political vacuum” in the state, makes the electoral turf pretty right harvest for Vijay.

“It is this desire for an alternative that resulted in a highly surprising 8.38 per cent and 10.30 per cent vote share the DMDK scored in 2006 and 2009 before it aligned with AIADMK in 2011, losing people’s confidence,” Singh added.

While Vijay depends on his fan club associations, Kannan said they should be ubiquitous and visibly on the ground working for the people rather on social media and the actor should come out with simple programmatic ideas and constituency-specific programs to strike a chord with the masses.

“Vijay’s decision to quit films and take to public life for good should be welcomed. He says he is prepared for the long haul. Only time will tell on this score. Undoubtedly, he has penetrated into every nook and corner of the state and has a massive fan following. But that isn’t enough,” Kannan added.

However, Singh feels as a political newcomer and bidder for power, Vijay could have the “biggest advantage” because the BJP is still a fledgling aspirant and the DMK is looking to Udhayanidhi as the Chief Ministerial candidate in 2026.

But what Vijay lacks that Udhay already has is battle-seasoned party machinery, Singh said, adding that though Vijay has a huge fan following, he has to build his party infrastructure in the quickest possible time. “The fans have already been prepared for the launch, but the question is how many will join Vijay’s party,” he said.

Is Vijay taking too many enemies?

However, Kannan feels by talking against corruption and communalism, Vijay is taking too many enemies at once. MGR’s focus remained the DMK and Karunanidhi, he points out.

“One can’t take several powerful enemies at the same time. He should have good advisors with him who will handhold him in the initial phase. One needs about 30 per cent votes to form a government. I believe Vijay could get between 5-10 per cent votes on his own and how and where will he get the remaining from?” Kannan asked.

This is where, the author added, Vijay should learn from Vijayakanth who aligned with the AIADMK, the very party he opposed, in his third electoral outing. 

 “From wanting to be a king, Vijayakanth became a kingmaker. He should have at least stayed there. Unfortunately, he didn’t, and he wanted to be the king again. From MGR, he should learn how to keep good advisors around,” Kannan said, adding that Vijay should patiently wait for his turn.

 Singh says while Vijay is untested and looks promising to the people who are tired of “Dravidianism, corruption, and hierarchy”, he should also be ready to be questioned in this era of social media where even an innocuous statement of public figures – including actors – are dissected by the public.

“Above all, Vijay should be transparent in his functioning,” Kannan concluded.