Vijay | From reel to real life hero
Vijay's onscreen persona was cast in the mould actors-turned-politicians of yore had set in Tamil Nadu—as champion of the oppressed
An autorickshaw driver, a footballer, a cop, an army man, a lawyer, a teacher, a doctor and eventually, a chief minister—for over a decade now, Vijay’s films have strategically constructed cinematic narratives that have functioned as political rehearsal. In the 2017 Tamil film Mersal, in which he essayed a triple role, one of his characters had him delivering a line that is in IMDB’s list of Vijay's most iconic dialogues. “It takes a lifetime to create a leader. We get only one leader for a generation. A leader isn’t merely a word. It stands for the trust of an entire generation,” says the village wrestler, who takes on the moniker given to Vijay by the people—‘Thalapathy’ or ‘General’.
An autorickshaw driver, a footballer, a cop, an army man, a lawyer, a teacher, a doctor and eventually, a chief minister—for over a decade now, Vijay’s films have strategically constructed cinematic narratives that have functioned as political rehearsal. In the 2017 Tamil film Mersal, in which he essayed a triple role, one of his characters had him delivering a line that is in IMDB’s list of Vijay's most iconic dialogues. “It takes a lifetime to create a leader. We get only one leader for a generation. A leader isn’t merely a word. It stands for the trust of an entire generation,” says the village wrestler, who takes on the moniker given to Vijay by the people—‘Thalapathy’ or ‘General’.
Tamil Nadu has had a long history of political culture being intertwined with cinema. Tamil superstar M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), who was cast out of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1972, went on to form the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). He swept the polls in 1977, became chief minister and ruled Tamil Nadu for a decade. His roles, like that of a doctor who fights for the rights of rebel slaves in Ayirathil Oruvan (1965), elevated his profile as a champion of the oppressed. J. Jayalalithaa, who also served as CM, plays a simpering princess, hanging onto MGR’s arm for most of the film. But in real life, she went on to command awe and authority as ‘Amma’, AIADMK leader and MGR’s heir. She rose to power as ‘Puraitchi Thalaivi’ (Leader of the revolution) with a resounding majority, proving that the stereotype of the helpless woman was largely an invention of the patriarchal Tamil film industry—one that she used to expand her reach.
Roles that depict male actors as crusaders of the downtrodden became the mould for many Tamil actors-turned-politicians in the decades to come, including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Vijay. In the 1971 film Rickshawkaran, for which he snaggled a National Film Award, MGR plays a rickshaw puller who simultaneously solves a murder mystery and upholds the rights of the poor. Rajinikanth played an autorickshaw driver in the 1995 film, Baashsha, some 14 years before Vijay played an identical character in Vettaikaaran. Though Rajinikanth kept testing political waters after Baashsha’s release, launching the fan welfare association Rajini Makkal Mandram in 2018, he soon dissolved the group and his political ambitions.
Vijay has admitted how the superstar inspired him to take to acting. So, it’s unsurprising that some of his signature on-screen moves—like spinning when he steps into the frame and flips gum into his mouth—seem like a hat tip to Rajinikanth. But Vijay shows no signs of backing out of politics. The social messaging in films such as Ghilli (2004), Thuppakki (2012), Mersal (2017) and Sarkar (2018) becomes pronounced with each successive release. While Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam did not witness the kind of groundswell that Vijay’s party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) did, he managed to synthesise the actor’s focus on ideas and ideology.
Most significantly, Vijay has engaged with the younger voters. His recent films such as Master (2021) address juvenile justice and systemic neglect, highlighting how marginalised youth are shaped by inequalities. None of his films, however, have attacked caste structures like earlier Dravidian-scripted films. In contrast, Udhayanidhi Stalin, the next DMK chief in the making, is seen making a violent statement against Tamil Nadu’s pervasive caste system in his 2023 film Maamannan. Vijay’s films always soften the blow with action and music.
Vijay’s latest film, Jana Nayagan (People’s Leader), has yet to release. But ‘Thalapathy Kacheri’, a song from the film, which he sings too, carries sharp political messaging that at once appeals to his young voters without making light of issues such as caste and language politics. The multilingual lyrics—“Aavoo together bhaiya bhaiya/ Jaadi bedham la ledhaiya/ Ningal sneham pol mannil engum/ Annan kandilla ohh chaiyyaa/... Verithanama vibe-avalaama (Come together, brother/ There are no caste differences/ There is no love like yours/ That this brother has seen anywhere else on earth/... Let us vibe like crazy”—is written by Tamil anti-caste rapper Arivu. With its vision of syncretic nationhood, it sounds uncannily like a campaign song.
—Lalitha Suhasini is a former editor of Rolling Stone India. She is now pursuing a PhD in English at Michigan State University
