Weeks before the Tamil Nadu election Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader and actor Vijay delivered a blockbuster campaign speech in Salem, accusing Chief Minister MK Stalin and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam of abuse of power and corruption, and urging voters to "blow the whistle".
The hugely popular movie star, his every thunderous exclamation cheered, targeted Stalin over the transfer of Rs 3,000 as an 'advance payment' for women under a state-sponsored scheme and underlined his casting of the DMK as 'evil'. "Will you vote for 'good' TVK or 'evil' DMK?"
Stalin had also promised Rs 2,000 more per woman as part of a 'summer bonanza', payment of which, the obvious implication was, would be continent on the DMK winning the election.
Claiming the DMK is trying to buy votes, Vijay called on the Tamil people to "take the money, but blow the whistle", referring to his party's election symbol and, obliquely, the 'whistle podu' row.
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"How was this 'special summer allowance' of Rs 2,000 announced? Does summer only occur this year? The reason for this... is the sound of the whistle heard in every street and home," he raged, and promised the Tamil people a more genuine welfare state under his leadership.
Stalin, he said, feared growing support for the TVK and the whistle, particularly among women.
The actor, routinely dismissed as too inexperienced to govern the state, then leaned into that moniker, "The DMK's experience is in corruption... we are inexperienced in that."
"I am opposing those who fool the people... I am targeting those in power. I will provide good governance... will never disappoint those who trust me... and won't make empty promises."
In a speech replete with counter-punches, Vijay also hit out over restrictions - including limiting the crowd to 4,998 and verifying identity cards - on people attending this afternoon's rally.
On paper, the restrictions follow a stampede at a rally in Karur last year, at which 41 people died.
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The DMK accused Vijay of having failed to follow SOPs as advised by the police. The TVK, though, said the ruling party orchestrated the violence to defame the actor.
Vijay slammed the changed SOPs for this event, declaring he only knew "Stalin Operating Procedure" and insisting he would continue to "fight for justice" for the Karur victims.
Vijay and the TVK have emerged as dark horses for this election, driven largely by his popularity.
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The stampede in Karur was seen as a problem, possibly a terminal one, to the party's chances.
But the TVK has made a comeback since. And Vijay has made headlines for an all-out approach, taking on both the ruling DMK and its Dravidian rival, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which have dominated Tamil Nadu politics, and swapped governments, since the late 1960s.
Vijay has refused any talk of alliance with the DMK - whom he has called his 'political enemy' - and with whose leaders he has had a running feud since announcing his election ambition.
He has, however, been softer in criticising the AIADMK, likely to avoid alienating potential swing voters while claiming the legacy of its founder, MG Ramachandran, or MGR, and absorbing its rebels, including KA Sengottaiyan.
The Congress and the BJP, both outsiders in the theatre of Tamil politics, are allied with the DMK and AIADMK, respectively, at this time, though there are whispers the former could walk out over stalled seat-share talks and tie-up with Vijay's TVK.
With input from agencies
