CHENNAI: MASSU. Weightu. Sceneu. Just three of many English words adopted by the public in Tamil Nadu after adding an u to the word at the end. What do they mean? They generally suggest something really cool or flashy. Not blingy but badass. Cool. In Chennai's blistering second summer of 2024, Tamil Nadu associated all of those to one movie. Lubber pandhu, a sports film with cricket at the heart of it. It was Chennai 600028 season again as the state fell in love because two of its biggest passions — cinema and cricket — merged to create magic on the big screen.
It wasn't lost on anybody that one of the film's main protagonists went by the name of Gethu. It was nominative determinism on point as Gethu was a swashbuckling batter whose pyrotechnics was well-known to the milieu (the movie is very loosely based on a real-life painter who moonlights as a cricketer in Tittakudi in Cuddalore).
In April 2025, a meme accurately captured the impact Gethu and this movie had on Tamil society. It suggested that he could be tried by Chennai Super Kings as the franchise's struggles with the bat up front was causing a lot of debate.
CSK listened. Kind of. They didn't hire reel life Gethu. They went and signed real life Gethu.
Sanju Samson.
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Tamil Nadu and Kerala have shared a symbiotic relationship. Malayalam actors routinely cross the border to act in big movies in Tamil. Vijay's movies in Kerala generally run to packed houses for weeks. The politicians of the two states are cordial and frequently share the same roof. This relationship has helped the spread of colloquial Malayalam in TN and colloquial Tamil in Malayalam as well.
Thanks to this shared association, a lot of people from across the border support CSK (it perhaps helps that Kerala doesn't have an IPL side of their own). Stroll through Ernakulam or Thiruvananthapuram or Calicut and you are bound to come across CSK's canary yellow. Before Samson became a player for Rajasthan Royals in 2013, back when he was an aspirational cricketer in the small coastal town of Vizhinjam, he was one of those who used to wear the famous old jersey. He would also bring it with him whenever he used to play cricket in TN.
It's kind of why Samson, a few days after he was traded in by CSK, made it a point to talk about his love for the franchise. "In Kerala," he had said in a video put out by CSK a week or so post that trade, "there are a lot of yellow shirts. Tamil and Malayalam are very close. Where I come from, there are a lot of people who speak Tamil. A lot of us watch Tamil movies. So there's a lot of excitement. When I was small, I liked to speak in Tamil. A lot of people (in Vizhinjam) have told me 'chetta, super decision'. Some have even told me 'I will wear Chennai because you will play for them.' I'm very happy (that I will play for them)."
It's not a homecoming but it would feel like one when the din of Chepauk greets him for the first time as a home player. For starters, the match-going public are already in love with him. They have been in love with him for years now. A few years ago, during an India A game against a visiting New Zealand team, Samson was the darling of the masses. Day-time temperatures soared over 35*c but for over 2000 people in the stands, watching Samson was worth braving the elements.
15 years ago, in 2011, a scrawny kid had made his T20 debut in Chennai for Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. That particular match had no fans. These days, Samson is appointment viewing.
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Over the last few years, the crowd at Chepauk during game nights had turned toxic on multiple occasions. A limp performance on the ground led to an outpouring of anger and grief to YouTubers and other content creators on the streets outside. Even MS Dhoni — a franchise player if ever there was one for this team — hadn't been spared. Most of the comments are unprintable because this is a family newspaper but the MA Chidambaram Stadium stopped being a happy place.
Being there used to be a grand experience, proper theatre. In 2025, it was akin to circling the drain. The joy had been sucked out long before the team closed out the campaign dead last. One of the league's most successful teams had stood still for a few years, tethering themselves to a winning formula from a few years ago. But standing still in this league is loaded with risk. Chennai found that out the hard way.
Chennai had, in essence, become a content machine with the cricket part of the wider ecosystem when it's generally the other way around. And no amount of Dhoni-related videos could paper over the widening cracks. In fact, if anything, Dhoni's mere presence further heightened the tension in the stands. In seasons past, his mere presence acted as a balm. In 2025, he had become a polarising figure. One section of the other fanbase would whistle while another section of the Yellow wall would be seething with rage.
It's why Samson's addition to the team promises to rejuvenate a fanbase searching for new heroes. Dhoni is still the king in this den — his earlier successes have guaranteed that he will be king for as long as he wants — but most sporting teams need succession plans in place. Chennai, for so long, have ignored that. Whenever they have tried for internal solutions, they have ended up tripping and falling down.
This is the first time they have tried to go to the market for a new hero since all those years ago in 2008.
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If Samson is given a choice about his ideal day, south Indian movies will dominate his day. It's why he's highly relatable for people from this part of the world, people who generally consume a lot of movies, either on OTTs or in movie halls.
He has also grown up feverishly memorising Rajinikanth dialogues and playing make believe Rajinikanth characters. A few years ago, he ended up visiting his 'Thalaivar'. Leader. The 31-year-old Samson has been leader for a few years now. The time is now ripe for him be the all-action hero the public in these parts readily identify with.