A viral TN father-son duo shows how love for Vijay sparked generational divide

In one viral reel, a father sits dramatically upset after TVK’s victory in Tamil Nadu, while his son records and teases him.

“Everyone kept asking in the comments what my father was doing after TVK’s win,” the son says before turning the camera towards him. “Let me show you.”

The father pretends to cry. The son then bursts into laughter. And the internet instantly gets the joke.

But for Kartik and his father Karunanidhi, these videos are more than social media comedy. They are a reflection of a political shift many families in Tamil Nadu are witnessing inside their own homes.

The father-son duo is from Erode — a region where the TVK performed strongly in the elections, winning five of the district’s eight Assembly constituencies. Kartik belongs to the generation that has rallied behind actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

His father, meanwhile, remains deeply loyal to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravidian movement that shaped Tamil Nadu politics for nearly six decades.

Even their names tell a story. Kartik’s father was named after late DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi, a sign of just how deeply politics ran through the family long before social media arrived.

Today, their home has unintentionally become a miniature version of Tamil Nadu’s evolving political landscape.

Across Instagram and YouTube, Kartik recreates everyday family conversations around politics — fathers supporting DMK or AIADMK, while younger voters and women increasingly lean towards Vijay and TVK. The humour works because it mirrors real conversations taking place across the state.

“Every household has this situation,” Kartik says. “The father supports DMK or AIADMK, while Gen Z youth and women support Vijay.”

Tamil Nadu’s political culture has long been built around loyalties passed down through generations. Party symbols, leaders and ideologies often become part of family identity itself. But Vijay’s rise appears to have disrupted that pattern among sections of younger voters who see him as an alternative to the state’s traditional Dravidian parties.

That generational split is also visible beyond social media. Political observers and pollsters have pointed to strong support for the TVK among young voters and women. These groups have played a major role in Vijay’s emergence as a serious political force.

Supporters like Kartik became part of a much larger online campaign ecosystem that amplified the Vijay-led party's content relentlessly during the election period. Fan edits, memes and political clips flooded social media, blurring the line between fandom and political mobilisation.

For Kartik, however, the connection to Vijay began years before politics.

He is part of the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, Vijay’s fan movement that has long organised welfare drives and community activities in the actor’s name. Kartik says his local unit has distributed books and notebooks and carried out welfare activities over the years.

But while Kartik’s political journey is driven by aspiration and excitement, his father’s loyalty comes from memory and loss.

Behind the humour in the reels lies a deeply personal story. Karunanidhi recalls how his own father was allegedly killed during a period of intense political rivalry decades ago. According to him, the attack happened because his father was travelling with a DMK flag attached to his bullock cart during one election season.

“They attacked him just for driving his bullock cart with the DMK flag flying on it,” Karunanidhi says. “During that election period, they beat my father to death.”

The incident left a permanent mark on the family and strengthened his emotional attachment to the DMK.

Despite those differences, father and son have unexpectedly become social media personalities together. People now recognise Karunanidhi outside their town, often approaching him to jokingly ask whether he has recovered from TVK’s victory.

“Now whenever I go anywhere, people ask me if I’m from the TVK family,” he says with a laugh. “They ask me how my father is doing after the election results.”

Meanwhile, Kartik sees the videos as something bigger than viral content.

He dreams of becoming a film director someday, and these reels have become his training ground. He scripts, shoots and edits the videos himself, experimenting with storytelling through humour and politics.

“My follower count has doubled since I started making TVK content,” Kartik says.

But for Kartik, the biggest moment wasn’t the virality. It was watching Vijay complete the transition from cinema icon to Chief Minister.

“I’m hopeful TVK will bring anti-corruption politics and better governance to Tamil Nadu,” he says.

Inside this one household, Tamil Nadu’s larger political transition plays out every day: An older generation shaped by the Dravidian movement, and a younger one searching for something new.