Actor Vijay set to make debut in Tamil Nadu politics

INDIA: Indian actor Vijay has scripted his political debut. He has analysed the bylaws of Dravidian parties, met political strategists, and conducted surveys on the

ground in 234 constituencies. Now, it’s just a matter of timing his release. In Tamil Nadu where politics and cinema have been strongly intertwined since the days of the Dravidian movement, another superstar is set to make his debut on the political stage, most likely for the 2026 assembly election. Actor Joseph Vijay has generated interest and excitement in political corridors with his ‘Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam’ (TVMI), a fan club-cum-welfare organisation since 2009, taking social and community outreach across the state in the past two months.

The actor who is called Thalapathy by fans, has recorded phenomenal success in the last three decades in Tamil cinema. ‘Varisu’, his last film, is the highest grosser of 2023. ‘Leo’, his latest action-drama film with Lokesh Kanagaraj, is set for release later this year. Not one to waste time, the actor recently announced ‘Thalapathy 68’ (tentative title), scheduled for release in 2024.

Close associates of the 48-year-old actor say he has been in touch with experts in recent months – former bureaucrats and serving civil servants and political strategists – to help him plan his political debut. Vijay had originally planned his entry ahead of the 2021 assembly election but put it off after rumours of actor Rajinikanth’s foray. Now with the superstar backing out, sources say Vijay has decided to get into the game.

Several filmstars have tried their hand in politics, but none has succeeded after AIADMK founder and the late Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa, who inherited his political legacy. Vijay’s entry, supporters say, would trigger political excitement in a state where C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi are ‘ideological brands’, and MGR and Jayalalithaa are seen as the ‘people’s brands’. The eagerness among Vijay fans is to seehis mass appeal cutting across all age groups, changing electoral dynamics in the state which lacks charismatic leadership. In April, the star debuted on Instagram, and clocked the fastest 1 million followers within minutes.

– TIMES OF INDIA