Action, Vijay

Actors should never say never

Did anyone hear Tamil Nadu CM Vijay heave a sigh of relief? His Jana Nayagan is off to a strong start. The alternative – sweeping a poll and then delivering a dud – would have been embarrassing. It could have cracked his aura. So, Vijay can focus on governance full-time now, as he promised. But can he? His contemporary to the north – Andhra deputy CM Pawan Kalyan – ended his cine sanyas within a year. The difference could be cultural, though. When NTR became Andhra CM in 1983, he didn’t give up acting until 10 years and half a dozen films later. Whereas in TN, MGR stopped acting when he became CM in 1977, even though his last film was released in 1978.

What will Vijay do? North of the Vindhyas, there’s only one actor-CM, Bhagwant Mann in Punjab, and he’s given up acting. The most famous actor-politician of all, Reagan, never acted after becoming US prez. Yet, every actor knows how hard it is to stay away from the camera. Fred Thompson, federal prosecutor on the Watergate case, US senator, and actor, returned to acting. He said eight years in the Senate had made him “long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood”. Schwarzenegger couldn’t help doing cameos in his eight years as California governor, and you can bet Trump won’t be averse to a few after 2028. Vijay can also follow his heart.

https://dash.harvard.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/6c07a006-fdca-4944-b355-839421285d79/content

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/growing-influence-celebrity-politics-india

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