Will ‘Neta’ Vijay make it big? Southern heroes were politically hot, but why was Northern stardom limited? – Vijay Talapathy South Indian Politics North Indian Politics Stars MGR NTR Jayalalitha Stalink pryd

Andhra Pradesh was scheduled to hold assembly elections in 1983. Andhra Pradesh was not divided at that time. Rajiv Gandhi came to Hyderabad a few months before the elections. There was a Congress government in the state at that time and the chief minister was T. Anjaiah. Rajiv Gandhi is said to have insulted T. Anjaiah at the airport. Later, Anyaya’s government was also dissolved.

At that time, Telugu film superstar NT Rama Rao founded the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He linked Rajiv Gandhi’s insult to Anjaya to Telugu identity. Eight months before the parliamentary election, 75,000 kilometers were traveled.

The result was that NT Rama Rao overthrew the Congress government. The Liberal Democrats, formed a few months before the election, won 201 of the state’s 294 seats. The number of seats in Congress was reduced to 60. NT Rama Rao, who played the roles of Krishna, Karna and Duryodhana in movies, has now become the Chief Minister.

However, NT Rama Rao is not the first superstar to become the chief minister of a southern state. Before him, MGR served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Another Southern star enters politics

NT Rama Rao and MGR are being mentioned as another superstar from the South has entered politics. Thalapathy Vijay, who has been seen on film screens till now, is gearing up to play a major role in politics.

Vijay’s political party “Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam” or “TVK” will contest the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. In fact, Vijay launched his party in July this year. But the party’s first election rally was held on October 27. Vijay addressed the rally. It is said that hundreds of thousands of people will participate in TVK’s first rally.

At the first rally, Vijay made his vision clear and said his party would also contest the assembly elections to be held in 2026. At the same time, he also made it clear that he was prepared to form an alliance with any political party.

Tamil Nadu will hold assembly elections in April 2026. The election also becomes interesting with the entry of Vijay. This is because the contest in Tamil Nadu so far has been only between Chief Minister MK Stalin, DMK and AIADMK. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are allied with them.

Vijay raised the issue of Dravidian and Tamil nationalism in the first rally. He also mentioned Periyar. Periyar was a communist who had deep influence in Tamil Nadu. However, Vijay made it clear that he did not believe in Periyar’s atheistic theories.

A fan who attended the rally told news agency ANI that victory in the 2026 elections would create history. They will have a huge impact.

(Photo-PTI)

Film and Politics in Tamil Nadu

Films here have had a significant impact on the politics of Tamil Nadu. More than six decades have passed in Tamil Nadu politics and the chief minister here has nothing to do with movies.

CN Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran, Jayalalitha and MK Stalin… these are the chief ministers who have been associated with Tamil cinema.

Annadurai formed the DMK after differences with Periyar and promoted Tamil and Dravidian nationalism through films. Under the leadership of Annadurai, the DMK government was formed in Tamil Nadu in the 1967 elections. This is the first time in India that regional parties have formed their own governments in each state.

Karunanidhi, who took over the reins of DMK after Annadurai, is also associated with the film. He has worked as a screenwriter for Tamil films. MG Ramachandran is also a big name in the Tamil film industry. He served as Chief Minister from 1977 to 1987. Jayalalitha has also acted in films. Current Chief Minister Stalin has also acted in many Tamil films. His son Udayanidhi Stalin is also an actor.

The political fortunes of Southern stars

Many film stars from south India have also tried their luck in politics. In December 2017, Tamil film superstar Rajinikanth announced his entry into politics.

He also founded his own political party. He also announced his participation in the 2021 parliamentary elections. But in December 2020, due to poor health, he stayed away from politics.

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi founded his own political party in 2008 called Praja Rajyam Party. His party also won 18 seats in the 2009 Andhra Pradesh elections. Later his party merged with the Congress. In 2014, Chiranjeevi distanced himself from politics. However, his legacy was carried on by his younger brother, superstar Pawan Kalyan.

Pawan Kalyan formed the Jana Sena party in 2014. His party was unable to do anything special in the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections. But in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections held this year, his party won 21 seats. Pawan Kalyan was the Deputy Chief Minister in the Chandrababu Naidu government.

Similarly, Kamal Haasan is also trying his luck in politics. He formed a political party called Makkal Needhi Mayyam in 2018. In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Kamal Haasan contested from the Coimbatore seat but lost to Vanasi Srinivasan of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

NT Rama Rao. (File photo)

South actors are more successful than Bollywood actors

South Indian film stars are not the only ones trying their luck in politics. Bollywood and North Indian film stars are also involved in politics. However, he could not achieve the same political success as the movie stars in the South.

When leaders like Annadurai, MGR, NTR, Karunanidhi, Jayalalitha, MK Stalin and others entered politics after their association with films, they all held the post of chief minister. But hardly any leader associated with Bollywood or other industries has achieved this status.

But why is this so? In fact, there was a push from southern cinema behind this. For example, films produced in Tamil cinema in the sixties and seventies protested against untouchability, landlordism and religious hypocrisy. In most movies, there is a character named “Anna” who is smart and uses arguments to argue against these things. This was the era of Annadurai, who was also called Anna. In this case, when Annadurai used to hold rallies, people used to gather to see him. The film further increased his popularity.

The same thing happened to Jayalalithaa. The lyrics of the first song he sang were “Amma Ka Pyaar”. This song is in Tamil. But Jayalalithaa later became famous as Amma. When Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister, she initiated many schemes in the name of ‘Amma’.

A similar example is NTR, who was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. NTR, who entered the big screen from theaters, played mythical characters in most of his films. This made him popular. In order to promote the Telugu language, he founded the Telugu Democratic Party, which received strong support from the people.

Many experts believe that Tamil and Telugu films served as propaganda machines and helped these stars gain a political foothold.

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