From silver screen to state Secretariat: The stunning rise of CM Vijay
He may have taken the political plunge at 50, but his entry into politics was planned more than a decade ago. The Vijay era begins
The drama and chaos in Tamil Nadu politics have finally ended on Saturday (May 9), and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) will form the government in the state with party president actor-turned-politician Vijay set to take oath as the next Chief Minister.
In a historic triumph, TVK, on debut, won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. However, they fell short of a simple majority. Now, with the support of Congress, CPI, CPM, VCK and IUML, TVK has 120 seats and is set to form the government.
Also read: Vijay, the man who says very little: Is silence golden in politics too?
Vijay presented himself as a hero who could augment the state's wealth as a better administrator. He replicated the electoral promises of the DMK, such as free bus travel for women and education funds.
Who is Vijay?
C Joseph Vijay was born on June 22, 1974, to filmmaker and Christian father SA Chandrasekar and singer and Hindu mother Shoba Chandrasekar. Vijay went to Fathima Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Balalok School in Chennai. Later, he was studying a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication at Loyola College, Chennai, but dropped out to pursue acting.
He launched his political party, TVK, in February 2024, and in just over two years, on electoral debut, has scripted history to take over as the state’s Chief Minister and end the bipolar politics of Dravidian parties – AIADMK and DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Also read: Nobody knew TVK candidates, they voted for Vijay: Political analyst R Kannan
Starting his film career as a child artiste in the 1980s, Vijay rose to establish himself in the Tamil cinema industry as the male lead. He has acted in over 65 films, with Jana Nayagan being his final movie to take up politics full-time. However, Jana Nayagan is yet to be released due to censor issues. It is expected to hit the theatres in June.
Political plunge at 50
He took the political plunge at 50, but his entry into politics was planned more than a decade ago. It was orchestrated by none other than his father, Chandrasekar, the maker of more than 70 films and also Vijay’s cinematic career.
Initially, not happy with the suggestion that he enter politics, Vijay had distanced himself from his father. He apparently resented Chandrasekar's constant push to present him as a larger-than-life leader even in real life.
It was Chandrasekar who introduced Vijay as a child artiste and strengthened his portfolio as the male lead in the early 1990s.
Once Vijay established himself in cinema, his father helped him with the selection of films and his presentation in the plots.
Vijay’s fan club
However, Chandrasekar also showed a keen interest in politics. He openly spoke in public forums about his political aspirations and even tried to motivate Vijay. However, his constant goading had the reverse effect, with Vijay showing little interest in politics at that time and being more invested in building his career in cinema.
Way back in 1993, Chandrasekar started a fan club for Vijay, which he converted into a welfare association in five years.
And in November 2020, he declared that he had registered Vijay’s fan club as a political party — the All-India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam — to recognise youngsters involved in philanthropic activities.
However, he made it clear that Vijay was in no way connected with the decision. Vijay himself rejected reports of his political entry. He even issued a statement saying he would not have any connection with the political party.
In his films, Vijay continued to sing duets and bash up villains, but the underlying political thread was unmistakable.
He built a reputation for representing people’s issues, such as untouchability, corruption, drugs, terrorism and so on, in his films.
Estranged from father
Through films such as Mersal (2017) and Sarkar (2018), Vijay did send across some political messages regarding current issues such as GST, demonetisation, the state of India’s healthcare, cash for votes, and the like. But in public life, he refrained from making any statements.
In fact, his differences with his father about political entry grew to the extent that they were not on speaking terms for four years, media reports said.
Apparently, it was Bussy N Anand, general secretary of the Iyakkam and now a leader of TVK, who acted as a binding force and encouraged Vijay to test his strength through local body elections.