Vijay’s blockbuster opening: How cinema powered the superstar’s rise in Tamil Nadu politics

From ‘Thamizhan’ to ‘Jana Nayagan’: This is how TVK chief Vijay used Tamil cinema to lay the groundwork for his historical political debut

Updated - September 13, 2026 10:45 am IST

Vijay in a still from ‘Jana Nayagan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

At Tirupattur in Sivaganga district, the counting of votes for the Assembly elections played out like a Vijay film.

During the final round of counting, election officials declared that the candidate belonging to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won by a single vote over his rival.

Now, take that in: a mere single vote.

This is pretty much a scene from Vijay’s own 2018 film, Sarkar. For those not clued into Tamil cinema, this film, directed by AR Murugadoss, revolves around a wealthy corporate professional who visits Chennai for a single day to cast his vote... only to find that his vote has been compromised. The peeved CEO — who, interestingly, is named Sundar Ramaswamy, which made fans draw parallels to Google’s Sundar Pichai — decides to stay back to fight his case, contest elections and assume political power in a storyline that can happen only in reel life.

Also Read: Vijay and Ajith Kumar reunite at Silverstone; fans call it “biggest day for Tamil Cinema”

Or so we thought, till the counting day of Tamil Nadu elections 2026, which resulted in a stunning debut for the actor-turned-politician as TVK emerged the single largest party with 108 seats. This unexpected result for a party, founded just over two years ago, is not just a reflection of the star’s charisma but also his decision to quit a thriving film career, one that had him earning more than ₹200 crores per project. Much like popular personalities and former Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, who were both film stars turned politicians too, 51-year-old Vijay too banked heavily on the large fan base that he has been carefully building over three decades.

File image: Actor Vijay’s fans celebrate release of his ‘Sarkar’ on November 05, 2018. | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ B

This victory is also not just for his stirring political speeches and an electoral manifesto that promises many financial benefits to the people. It is also the result of message-laced commercial cinema that projected Vijay as the saviour of the masses, and which was probably amplified by the several political hurdles and red tape he faced at the time of release of these films.

“Vijay would have been just another actor, but every project landed in some controversy,” says film producer G Dhananjayan, “However, from Thalaivaa till the recent Jana Nayagan, his work has been pulled by political forces — so much that he decided to get into public life himself. I would say that politicians have driven him to politics.”

Dhananjayan says Kaththi (2014) was Vijay’s most political film. “He brought up issues that plagued farmers. It signalled that Vijay is aligned with the people,” says the producer, who adds that signing Sarkar was yet another step in the political ladder through cinema, “Destiny guided him to pick the kind of stories that marked his entry into politics.”

Rewind to 2002, and you have Thamizhan, in which Vijay plays a lawyer whose goal is to spread awareness about the law to the common man. In this movie, he pulls up several public servants — including a bus conductor who denies small change to a senior citizen and Corporation officials who neglect their official duties. Then there is Thalaivaa, the 2013 film that 29-year-old Mohamed Ashik, a fan, recalls with fondness. “Watching that film and its powerful scenes gave me goosebumps,” says Ashik, about the film which had sequences showcasing Vijay glorifying the importance of unity and saving people stuck in riots.

File image: A fan celebrates the release of the Vijay-starrer, 'Thalaivaa’ on August 20, 2013 | Photo Credit: RAGU R

Beyond the film’s content, Thalaivaa – which translates to ‘leader’ – is remembered for the challenges Vijay faced to get it released. Its tagline – ‘time to lead’ – reportedly irked the then Tamil Nadu Government led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, thus leading to a two-week delay in its release. “Back then, watching Vijay and the Thalaiva team undergo so many hurdles just to release their film gave its extra hype, and hence, watching it FDFS will remain special to me,” describes Ashik, who hails from Kandalurkottai in Pudukottai district. “Many friends of mine, who are regulars at Vijay FDFS fan celebrations, voted for Vijay, with some even urging the elders of the house to do the same,” adds Ashik, who is also the admin of multiple social media pages like @Vijayfanstrends (500k followers) and ActorVijayUniverse (213K followers), besides TVK-related social media accounts.