Chennai: Actor Vijay’s fans utilised his 43rd birthday on Thursday to send a political message that they are gearing up to play a role in future elections, even while those close to him indicated that the hero’s direct entry will take more time since he has several years of film career left.
Most of the fans cited the actor’s recent comments on the importance of protecting farmers as they see it as a clear signal from their hero.
They have come out with titles of ‘Vivasayigalin Vidayal’ (Dawn of farmers) and ‘Champion of farmers’ to describe their hero. The fans used social media to greet Vijay with numerous titles, even while members of political parties like the DMK used the platform to share their wishes.
The walls of the city were decked with posters hailing Vijay as ‘Naalaiya Thamizhagathin Nalla Thalaimaiyey’ (Tomorrow’s leadership for Tamil Nadu)., while a few openly called him ‘Mudhalvar (Chief Minister). Some of them described him as the leader who would fill the void in Tamil Nadu politics. Most of the posters descri-bed him as ‘Thalaiva’, title of one of his films, which faced trouble during its release when former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was in power.
‘Tamil Nadu alla, Thalapathy nadu’ (Not Tamil Nadu, but Thalapathy’s country) screamed one poster. The earlier title of ‘Ilaya thalapathy’ had been altered to ‘thalapathy’, which is used by DMK cadre to address their working president M.K. Stalin.
Following the mood of the fans, actor S.Ve. Shekar, a supporter of BJP, hailed the actor as ‘Future Chief Minister’.
Actor Rajinikanth’s recent comments on politics and the keen interest it had evoked appear to have incited a zeal for politics among Vijay fans too. But, functionaries of Vijay People’s Movement denied any such link.
One of the fan club functionaries pointed out that Vijay, whose wife is a Sri Lankan Tamil, led a fast in 2009 demanding ceasefire in the island nation.
He also recalled that the fans had worked for the AIADMK in the 2011 Assembly elections.
Vijay fans did not take part in election works in the 2016 Assembly polls, since the hero had asked them to keep away from it, he reasoned. However, people close to his father and film director S.A. Chandrasekhar, who plays a major role in his family said the actor might not directly involve himself in politics immediately.
