Not another MGR: Why Vijay's landslide victory in Tamil Nadu is different |
The MGR comparisons are, perhaps, unavoidable, as Joseph Vijay, megastar and political greenhorn, has wrecked electoral calculations in Tamil Nadu. At the time of writing, the actor-turned-politician’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam — dismissed in most pre-poll analyses as a mere disruptor — looks set to form the government, with the incumbent DMK, trailing far behind.
How did this happen? It would be easy to reach for the most obvious explanations — the first being that Tamil Nadu, with its history of worshipping film stars, even handing them the mandate, was about due for another such moment. Outside the state, this is the popular, and reductive, understanding of Tamil Nadu’s proud political tradition: MGR proved it when he swept to power in J Jayalalithaa did it in 1991 when she stepped up as MGR’s successor and became chief minister.
The political fabric of the state, however, is woven with more than one kind of thread (even if they’re all varying shades of Dravidianism). It calls for the kind of immersion and commitment — and bone-deep understanding of its distinctive culture — that even the most popular matinee idol may not be able to muster. Witness what happened to Rajinikanth’s political ambitions, with a long-speculated party failing to materialise and the superstar eventually announcing the dissolution of his plans to focus on films. Ulaganayagan (Universal Hero) Kamal Haasan at least formed the Makkal Needhi Maiam; ultimately, though, the “third force” in Tamil Nadu politics failed to win a single seat in the 2021 assembly elections and the 2019........