During the 2011 assembly election campaign in Tamil Nadu, popular comedian Vadivelu campaigned vociferously for the DMK, using his talent for wit and sarcasm to mock Vijaykanth, who had allied with Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK in that election. When the AIADMK-DMDK swept to power, Vadivelu was effectively blacklisted by the Tamil film industry. This was when Vadivelu was at the peak of his career, with his presence in a movie counting as a box office insurance policy. Not that there was any public statement from Vijaykanth or Jayalalithaa saying ”Don’t hire him”. It was a self-enforced industry freeze of sorts.
No one wanted to incur the wrath of the new powers-that-be. Vadivelu had turned radioactive and in an interview, admitted that he would keep waiting for his phone to ring. He did a few movies in the last decade but was noticed for a powerhouse performance only in ‘Maamanan’ in 2023, which incidentally was produced by co-actor Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Perhaps it was the fear of a similar fate that prevented Tamil cinema stars from doing a Vadivelu in 2016 and 2021. But with the 2026 election largely turning into a ‘Vijay election’, Kollywood has come out all guns blazing, exhibiting its political colours in the last leg of the campaign. Among them is Prakash Raj, who incidentally stars with Vijay in his farewell movie ‘Jana Nayagan’.
Prakash Raj, who famously crossed swords with Vijay’s character in the all-time superhit ‘Ghilli’ (in fact, Vijay is reported to call Raj as ”chellam”, in a reference to the word Raj uses for heroine Trisha throughout the movie), said that if he liked an actor, he could whistle for him but cannot give the state to him. ”Politics is different, cinema is different,” he said, questioning how Vijay or his driver’s son could suddenly be pitchforked into positions of power.
While Prakash Raj is right in demanding Vijay’s opinion on contentious issues, nothing in the Constitution of India prevents an actor or a driver’s son from contesting an election. Cinema legend Kamal Haasan too contested the 2021 elections and today Raj and Haasan find themselves on the same side, batting for the DMK. Udhayanidhi Stalin too has been an actor-producer and was promoted at lightning speed to the post of deputy chief minister. Prakash Raj himself turned openly political around 2017 and went on to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which he lost. So has Vijay, who established his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in 2024.
Sathyaraj, who played Kattappa in ‘Baahubali’ admits to being a Vijay fan and wants him to continue in cinema only. This is a roundabout way of saying he wants to see him lose. But while Sathyaraj, who is critical of Vijay’s neo-Dravidian politics, is batting for the DMK, his son, actor Sibi Sathyaraj leans towards the TVK. Just like the generational divide one is seeing within several families in Tamil Nadu.
Vijay is not the only actor who is getting both love and hate from his industry peers. Actor-director Sundar C, husband of actor and BJP leader Khushbu, is contesting on behalf of NDA from Madurai Central against DMK strongman, IT minister, P Thiagarajan. Prakash Raj tore into Sundar, questioning how someone who was busy with a film shoot till three days before his name was announced as the candidate, could be an ideal MLA for the temple town. It is as if a Tamil film script has spilled on to real life, and is playing out at a public meeting near you.
Kamal Haasan, whose party is not contesting this election and is supporting the DMK, criticised Vijay — without naming him — for contesting from two constituencies. This is criticism for the sake of criticism, as Vijay is not the first person to contest from more than one seat. In fact, Haasan is coming under fire for campaigning for DMK’s Senthil Balaji in Coimbatore, KN Nehru in Tiruchy and Sekhar Babu in Chennai. In 2021, Haasan had called Balaji ”the face of corruption.”
Incidentally, Khushbu refers to Vijay as her brother, and has had only good things to say about him. This even as the TVK could cut into the NDA vote and dent its chances of coming to power in Tamil Nadu. Likewise, Sundar has refrained from speaking anything negative about Vijay.
What the filmy entry into the last leg of the 2026 campaign has demonstrated is that there are no ‘no-fly zones’ in Tamil cinema. Even Ajith and Rajinikanth, who have stayed apolitical, have found themselves drawn into the cesspool of Tamil Nadu politics. Ajith, for long, has been seen as Vijay’s rival in Kollywood and so AIADMK leaders like SP Velumani have tried to position themselves as well-wishers of Ajith in an attempt to woo his fans to take advantage of their antipathy towards Vijay. This even as, at a personal level, Thala (as Ajith is called) and Thalapathy Vijay are good friends.
After TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna’s unsavoury comments on Rajinikanth, the two Dravidian parties expect Rajinikanth fans not to throw their weight behind Vijay.
Many see the attacks by Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj and Sathyaraj as attempts to demystify the Vijay persona, stripping the greasepaint off him. The criticism has made many wonder if the DMK, rather belatedly, perceives a threat from the TVK in the urban pockets.
What will it mean for Kollywood once the dust of the elections settles down after May 4? Vijay is the number one star, with the maximum pull at the box office. Should the TVK secure a foothold in the corridors of power, the Vadivelu effect could kick in again. Even if it does not, future mega projects may try to be politically correct in the eyes of the ruling alliance in terms of who forms the cast and crew.
May 4 will not just decide the next occupant of Fort St George, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu. It may also decide who gets a Red Card and who gets the Red Carpet in Kollywood.
