After days of hectic political negotiations and behind-the-scenes discussions, Tamil Nadu on Sunday got a brand-new Chief Minister — C. Joseph Vijay — who broke the decades-old duopoly of the DMK and the AIADMK, offering voters hope for a new political alternative.
The big question now as the state gets its new leading man is whether Vijay will be as successful as legendary actor-turned-politicians such as M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and J. Jayalalithaa, who transformed their cinematic popularity into enduring political success and served as chief ministers of Tamil Nadu for decades. Or will he end up like several other film stars who entered politics but failed to make a lasting impact, someone perhaps like Kamal Haasan or maybe the original Thalaiva Rajinikanth?
Tamil Nadu has a unique political tradition where cinema and politics have long been intertwined. MGR and Jayalalithaa built mass political movements on the strength of their screen charisma. Even DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi used cinema effectively through his powerful screenwriting to shape Dravidian politics. Surprising even DMK’s current supremo M.K. Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin, too, have had acting stints. So will Chief Minister Vijay — founder of the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) — join the line of the successful ones like MGR?
Born on June 22, 1974, Vijay comes from a film family. His father, S.A. Chandrasekaran, is a filmmaker, while his mother, Shoba Chandrasekhar, is a playback singer.
As Tamil cinema’s biggest superstars, Vijay brought his massive “Thalapathy” fan base directly into politics.
TVK was a new entrant in Tamil Nadu politics, Vijay had announced the party only in February 2024. But despite having no political history or governance experience, he contested all 234 Assembly seats independently, rejecting alliances with established parties—a decision that resonated with voters weary of traditional political formations. Supporters arrived at polling booths dressed in party colours, raising slogans of “Vetri Nichayam”—“victory is certain”. A strong youth turnout, too, is said to have significantly boosted TVK’s performance.
His attempt to blend Tamil pride with social justice and secular values, drawing inspiration from Periyar, B.R. Ambedkar and K. Kamaraj, paid off. For Vijay, the DMK represented “dynastic rule and corruption”—a “political enemy”—while the BJP he called his “ideological enemy” because of what he describes as divisive right-wing politics that run contrary to Tamil Nadu’s secular and Dravidian ethos.
Positioning itself against both the DMK and the AIADMK — weakened significantly after Jayalalithaa’s death — TVK emerged as a fresh alternative in Tamil Nadu politics.
Supporting equality, secularism, democracy and the two-language policy, he positioned as centre-left and pro-people to emerge as the single largest in the 2026 Assembly elections. Vijay’s films had already established a strong emotional connection with the masses, allowing TVK to bypass the decades-long cadre-building process traditional parties usually require.
The actor has enjoyed a successful film career spanning over three decades till Jana Nayagan (2026), reportedly his final film before entering politics full-time.
Away from the spotlight, Vijay has largely kept his personal life private. He married Sangeetha Sornalingam—a Sri Lankan Tamil based in the UK—a fan who reportedly met Vijay after watching his film. The couple maintained a low profile over the years. Their children — son Jason Sanjay and daughter Divya Saasha — too have also stayed away from media attention, so far. But now, Tamil Nadu’s newest superstar chief minister can neither evade scrutiny nor the new spotlight that comes with accountability and probity related to public life.
Tamil Nadu has witnessed several cinema stars transitioning into politics, but the most prominent example remains MGR, founder of the AIADMK and one of the state’s most influential political leaders.
MGR entered politics through the Dravidian movement and joined the DMK to champion Tamil identity and welfare politics. Using his on-screen image as a protector of the poor, he later split from the DMK and founded the AIADMK in 1972 after differences with Karunanidhi. The AIADMK went on to win the 1977 Assembly election, making MGR the first film actor in India to become a much-loved chief minister.
Mentored by MGR, Jayalaithaa also converted her cinematic fame into political dominance and enjoyed enormous public support throughout her career. Karunanidhi, popularly known as “Kalaignar”, similarly used his screenwriting skills to propagate Dravidian ideology. Now it is over to Tamil Nadu’s new leading man—C. Joseph Vijay.