ACTOR VIJAY'S POLITICAL DEBUT DRAWS CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM FROM HIS HEROINE
As Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay prepares for his electoral debut in the Tamil Nadu polls next year, one of Vijay's former heroines offered guarded optimism about his political journey in a conversation with NDTV.
Though she declined to be named, the actress, who has shared screen space with Vijay in the past, welcomed his decision to quit cinema and enter full-time politics, underscoring the scale of the step given his stardom and fan following. "He has made a major decision to leave cinema and get entirely into politics. I think it's a huge deal for the kind of stardom he has," she told NDTV. She added, "I really wish him the best, I hope and pray that all this stardom and fandom around him will also help him through his political journey."
When asked whether actors can make effective political leaders, she responded in the affirmative but stressed that success depends on the individual. Referring to Tamil Nadu's political history, she said, "It depends, I mean we have had two great people who were actors and became good leaders - Jayalalitha Amma and MGR sir. Actors may be good leaders, it depends."
The state's recent political history also presents a more sobering picture. Tamil Nadu has not seen an actor rise to the chief minister's post after MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. Popular film personalities Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth, Sarath Kumar and Kamal Haasan have attempted to carve a political space but fell short of capturing power. Superstar Rajinikanth, despite immense anticipation, eventually chose to step away from electoral politics altogether.
When asked how Vijay might fare, the actress cited his popularity and public connect. She said, "Like I said earlier, he has a very big fan following and he has lots of love from the people. I really hope that can take him places."
On a lighter note, when NDTV asked whether she would campaign for Vijay if he personally requested her support, she smiled and firmly ruled it out, saying, "I'm never getting into politics."
