Thalapathy to Thalaivar: Will Vijay muster the courage?

“It is for my fans to decide.” This was popular Tamil actor Vijay’s response to a question about whether his moniker will undergo a change from thalapathy (commander) to thalaivar (leader). In an interview with a leading Tamil entertainment channel last week, the 47-year-old actor went on to add while he would always “like to be Vijay” much would depend on “what fans and the situation demands.”

“In these 30 years, it was the fans who made me thalapathy from an ordinary actor. It is the fans who have to decide, and the situation will also play a role. If you ask me, I would like to be Vijay, but if the fans and situation demand a change, then I have to,” Vijay said in the interview.

The actor allowed his fans to contest local body elections and use his picture and the flag of his fan club association – Vijay said he did not want to stand in the way of the genuine aspirations of his supporters in serving the people.

After all this, Vijay’s answer surprised many. It is because his statement had an eerie resemblance to the ‘will he, won’t he’ suspense of the actor’s senior in the tinsel town, Rajinikanth, that lasted three decades.

Vijay has age on his side, he has received the certificate of an ‘honest taxpayer’ more than once for the Income Tax raids on his premises multiple times that failed to detect any tax evasion and he wears the Tamil pride on his sleeves.

If he is serious – Vijay has an enviable fan following – what is holding him back? Probably, it is the growing realization that the star power doesn’t get translated into votes in the 21st century. The advent of social media has brought everyone under scrutiny and actors aren’t spared anymore in Tamil Nadu and every statement or action of theirs is also open to scrutiny.

Also, after MGR and J Jayalalithaa, no actor in Tamil Nadu has succeeded in politics – Vijayakant, who took a brave decision by launching a political party against Dravidian giants DMK and AIADMK, had to eat a humble pie following a volley of mistakes, and Kamal Haasan ended up losing his debut election in 2021.

If Vijay nurses genuine political ambitions, political analysts said, he has to just take the plunge and start building his party from the grassroots instead of just keeping up the suspense.

Prof Ramu Manivannan, former Head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras, opined that Vijay is unlikely to have a “big impact” even if he takes the political plunge. What is Vijay’s contribution to Tamil society, Prof Manivannan asked.

“Running a fan club and running a political party are entirely different. Vijay is merely meddling between the two fields by exploiting his fans and the people. Film popularity does not get you to power. One has to be on the ground with the people to fight for them. Vijay has made little or no contribution to society. He will have no free pass,” he told DH.

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