From MGR to Vijay: Tamil Nadu and its trysts with superstar netas

Tamil Nadu has delivered a disruptive election result. The southern state has once again shown that cinema is not just a form of entertainment but a powerful political tool.

Tamil superstar C Joseph Vijay, known as "Thalapathy" Vijay (General Vijay), has made a stunning electoral debut. His party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has emerged as the single largest party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, set to unseat the incumbent DMK of Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Tamil Nadu has a rich history of people from cinema joining politics, with some even achieving great success.

We take a deep dive.

CN Annadurai

CN Annadurai, the founder of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), was a great orator and screenwriter. A democrat at heart, his films reflected his anti-caste mindset.

Anna went on to serve as the last chief minister of the Madras state, which he renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

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He split the Dravidar Kazhagam, the outfit of social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy (EVR), to float his own political party, the DMK, in 1949.

Anna was a proponent of Dravidian ideas related to social justice, state autonomy, and language rights.

MG Ramachandran

MG Ramachandran, famously known as MGR, went on to become the southern state’s chief minister. He left stardown to pursue politics.

His films portrayed him as people’s saviour. MGR took the role seriously, using his “man of the masses" image on screen for a successful political career.

During his tenure as DMK’s Treasurer in 1972, he publicly pushed for releasing the accounts of personal assets held by DMK ministers. This led to his ouster from the party, with MGR forming the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) just a week later.

Positioning himself as the true heir of Annadurai’s legacy, he went on to helm Tamil Nadu as its chief minister for three consecutive terms from 1977 to 1987.

His welfare-oriented rule made MGR one of the most important political leaders of the state, as per News18.

J Jayalalithaa

Like MGR, J Jayalalithaa left her career in movies to become a full-time politician. She played the main lead opposite MGR during her early career.

Following his footsteps, Jayalalithaa took the political plunge and became one of the tallest leaders in Tamil Nadu.

J Jayalalithaa served as Tamil Nadu's CM for five terms. File Photo/Reuters

The AIADMK leader served as chief minister for a record five times.

The not-so-successful experiments

Superstar Rajinikanth never fought an election despite teasing his political entry for over two decades.

Actor Vijayakanth launched the DMDK party in 2005, which became sort of a "third force" during a time when Tamil politics was dominated by Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi, as per NDTV.

While Vijayakanth never became the CM, his party played the role of the kingmaker, deciding who would rule the state – DMK or AIADMK.

Kamal Haasan has failed to achieve electoral success as he continues to be involved in both cinema and politics.

How Vijay has scripted history

The comparisons to MGR have already emerged. Vijay’s surprise victory has broken the Dravidian binary in Tamil Nadu, which did not allow a third political party to rule the state.

Vijay, 51, who enjoys a huge fan following, announced his retirement to pursue politics full-time.

He formed his party TVK in 2024 but decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, focusing solely on the Assembly elections in 2026.

His decision has now borne fruit. The son of filmmaker SA Chandrasekhar and singer-writer Shoba Chandrasekhar has successfully converted his fandom into electoral gains.

Much before his political entry, Vijay's films started laying the groundwork for how the masses saw him. Over time, his roles transformed from angry young man to saviour tropes.

Post 2012, his films addressed governance failures, corruption, social justice and public welfare. So, when Vijay finally took the political plunge, it was not out of nowhere for his fans.

The TVK leader, however, got mired in a controversy after a stampede at his rally in Karur last September killed 40 people, raising questions about his organisational readiness and leadership.

While it was a setback, the crowd crush did not prove to be fatal for Vijay's political career.

“Politics is not just another profession for me. It is a sacred service of the people,” he said at the time of launching his party. “Politics is not my hobby, it is my quest.”

The TVK is leading in 99 seats and has won 11, as per the Election Commission's trends at 5:10 pm. The DMK is trailing with 53 seats and has won six seats. The majority mark is 118 in the 234 Assembly.

Vijay's electoral success indicates the disillusionment of Tamil voters with the two long-ruling Dravidian parties, whose politics are rooted in regional identity and social justice.

Now, the actor-turned-politician's test would be to choose an ally and form the next government in Tamil Nadu.

With inputs from agencies