Ending months of speculation, actor Vijay announced his entry into electoral politics on Friday, launching his Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam and hinting at an end to his successful film career. The 49-year-old, among the most bankable stars in the country, will be attempting to emulate the career of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran. He is hardly the first in this attempt. Rajinikanth spent a chunk of his film career hinting at a political entry, only to withdraw on the grounds of age and health after years of suspense. Among those who took the plunge, only Vijayakanth made a short-lived mark. Kamal Haasan, once the least expected political candidate from the film firmament, has been at it for five years now, with limited gains.
However, unlike others, Vijay is making the shift at the peak of his film career and at a relatively younger age. His fans, too, skew younger. He has peppered his films with political commentary for several years now and made little secret of his ambitions—showing up at protest sites, offering support to students, and energising his fan clubs to work with local communities. While launching his political party, Vijay took aim at political corruption—a common theme in many of his movies, aimed ostensibly at the Dravidian majors— and communalism, seeming to offer a middle path to the people of Tamil Nadu. Beyond this, he offered little hint of what he and his party stand for, of their goals beyond bringing in ‘change’. Just as well then that he says his party will sit out the upcoming parliamentary polls and focus on the 2026 assembly elections.
Vijay’s political success will depend on several factors, especially his ability to play the long game if he aims to become a viable alternative to the DMK and AIAD MK, which garnered a combined vote share of close to 80 percent in the 2021 assembly polls. While the MGR example is quoted often, especially by those outside the state, it is often forgotten that he grew alongside the Dravidian movement even as he grew the movement through his films. Vijay has made several nods to MGR’s legacy through his films. While his fans may see in him a worthy inheritor, politically he ought to forge his own way ahead.