00:00Let's open this up. Joining me on this broadcast is Sumansi Raman as well as Mr. Shekhar Iyer to decode
00:06whether we're seeing a further churn in Tamil Nadu politics.
00:09Mr. Sumansi Raman, good evening to you first, sir. With all that we've seen in the last few months, many
00:14would say that there's already been a complete change and transformation in Tamil Nadu politics.
00:18But just looking at the result of the bi-poll and the fact that you've got now Annamalai who's stepping
00:23in, making it clear that look, in the next few years he will be looking at state elections.
00:28And then you have Dhanush who's setting the base perhaps for him to also step into politics.
00:33Do you think the whole narrative of Dravidian parties leading really in Tamil Nadu is all changing that they could
00:40perhaps also disappear completely?
00:43Okay, so first of all, Dhanush and Annamalai are nowhere comparable with Vijay in terms of their public appeal and
00:53stardom.
00:53Dhanush is a much, much smaller star when compared to Vijay and he's not in the same league at all.
00:59So he would like to try his luck because Vijay made it big and that has attracted not only Dhanush,
01:07it has also attracted another actor called Sivakarthi Kayan to try his luck as well.
01:11He's also gone the way of, you know, setting up his fan clubs in the format of a political party.
01:20You know, so that is something that is happening.
01:23But I do not believe that these are, you know, people who are guaranteed success in any manner whatsoever.
01:30Mr. Annamalai himself has become a bit of a bit player at the moment.
01:35And he's yet to prove himself. He's contested two elections and lost both of them.
01:40So, you know, the charge against him is first become a councillor and then talk.
01:44So whether he will succeed in that now that he's moved from Parliament Assembly election to Parliament election and now
01:51to local body election.
01:53First of all, this is we the leader. Is it a political party? Is it a social movement?
01:58No, it's clearly moving towards becoming a political party.
02:00Yeah, so he will have to register a political party and then, but of course, local body elections, you know,
02:07local issues do dominate.
02:09So very often there are parties, independents who win in large numbers against established political parties.
02:15But I think it's good that more players are coming into the electoral fray.
02:20Simply because Tamil Nadu is sick and tired of same two parties for last 70 years.
02:26So anybody coming into politics is welcome.
02:29Do you think, sir, though, that there's a void, that, you know, these leaders stepping in or stars stepping in
02:34will fill a void, essentially?
02:37And it's a question of the number two position, not so much number one, because like you said, you know,
02:40Vijay is, at this point at least, currently, leagues apart.
02:45So, look, there are two clear players now, as Vijay himself says.
02:49There is the TVK and there is the DMK.
02:51What will happen to the AIA-DMK remains to be seen.
02:54But there are, let us say, two and a half major players in politics in Tamil Nadu.
03:00Now, does that mean if TVK does not deliver on governance, then it creates a huge opportunity for a new
03:09player?
03:09Because with a weakened AIA-DMK, the DMK then goes back to being the preeminent force.
03:15And who against the DMK?
03:17Because in Tamil Nadu, the vote bank is largely an anti-DMK vote bank.
03:21If the anti-DMK vote bank unites, they win elections.
03:25That's very simple.
03:26So whether, so there is definitely going to be space for a third player or a new player.
03:32Who that new player is, is really the million dollar question.
03:35What will it take, Mr. Shekhar Ayaan?
03:37What will it take for a Dhanush or an Annamalai to be successful?
03:40You know, Dhanush sure has a star power, not perhaps at the same level of Vijay.
03:45But he's got a couple of years, if he chooses to enter politics, to actually work on ensuring that he
03:50has more time than Vijay to set the base for a political debut.
03:55As far as Annamalai goes, he's never really tasted any electoral success, but is known to have some sense of,
04:01you know, a following.
04:02At least if you look at social media, he has a following.
04:05So what will it take for them to actually create an impact?
04:09Well, Akshita, in the case of Annamalai, we have already seen even his social media, you know, thing has hit
04:15a plateau.
04:17Because not much has happened since he announced the party, that there was this drive for membership.
04:23Then he held meetings in some places.
04:26But then he has been unable to keep up that initial momentum.
04:30And when the elections finally happened, say the civic elections, I don't think we the leader, even it puts up
04:37candidates.
04:38That is going to make a big impact because what Dr. Sumant P. Rahman just said, the battle is between
04:44Vijay and those who are opposed to Vijay, including the DMK.
04:48And there is already a lot of talk that for Annamalai, the choice is either, you know, he has to
04:55join the anti-Vijay bandwagon, or he has to be with, by joining hands with DMK, or he has to,
05:03you know, look at ways of joining hands with even Vijay.
05:06I don't know whether that's a possibility.
05:08But the big thing is, Annamalai doesn't have an extra cinematic appeal at a time when there are so many
05:15players coming with cinematic appeal.
05:17As far as Danush is concerned, well, he is, he may be estranged son-in-law of Rajini Khan, the
05:24superstar.
05:24But there has been a lot of buzz about Rajini Khan's wife, Lata, coming to Delhi, meeting a lot of
05:30people, talk of, you know, her own possibility of making a debut, you know, in politics.
05:37So there are a lot of speculation.
05:39But Danush, you know, at the moment it looks like, I mean, the path we have seen of Kamala Hassan.
05:45The Kamala Hassan, seen as a top-of-the-mind kind of actor, but, and he set up that Makkal
05:50Nidhi Mahiyam, but finally failed to click because he could not, you know, have a way with what he was
05:58actually trying to achieve.
05:59He's also not, he's not a Masi star, sir, like, you know, Vijay or Rajini, Masi.
06:03They have, in fact, appeal across the state.
06:06And Danush, Danush is again not a, you know, mass-miss actor.
06:09So there is, and by the way, let us not forget Ajit also, actor Ajit, who has a fan following,
06:17and recently the Vijay meeting up with Ajit in UK.
06:23Yeah.
06:23The direction with the motor race, sporting event, and et cetera, et cetera.
06:27But that is also a lot of talk of buzz, because I can say for a fact that some attempts
06:33were made before the Tamil Nadu elections by one political party to, you know, contact Ajit.
06:38To see whether he could come in.
06:40But then Ajit and Vijay are good friends, so personal friendships do matter in this kind of political possibilities.
06:47Well, nobody would believe that on social media because of the rivalry that their fandom is involved in.
06:52And also, sir, I will say that I've spoken to Mr. Ajit multiple times, and he's very, very clear.
06:57His passion is motorsports, not politics.
06:59He wants nothing to do with politics, and he's made that amply clear to me.
07:03But Mr. Sumansi Raman, if you look at Dhanush, if you look at Anna Malaya, and the timing, really, of
07:07them making these moves,
07:09it's not like, you know, they're taking the full-fledged political plunge immediately.
07:12They're taking their time, they're setting their base, because they know that, you know, if they're looking at elections and
07:17create an impact,
07:18they have time right up till 2031.
07:20And many would argue now is perhaps the best time for new players to step in, because they've seen, one,
07:25the success of Vijay.
07:26Second, that there is a fatigue with Dravidian parties.
07:29Yeah, I think that they, both of them, and including the likes of Sivakarthike, and also, they sense that.
07:36They sense, what if Vijay fails?
07:39People are not extremely keen to go back to the DMK.
07:43So, who, if not the TVK?
07:47Becomes a very, very interesting question.
07:49So, if people are looking for a younger generation of leadership, and they do not want the two Dravidian parties
07:56back,
07:57then that leaves you with TVK versus who?
08:01And that is the void that these various, you know, people are trying to target and fill.
08:09So, I'm not too sure that either Annamalai or Danush would be very successful, simply because of the track record
08:18that they have shown.
08:19But what if, and this is of course a hypothetical situation, because it hasn't happened, but what if Rajini Khan
08:25steps in to back Danush, sir?
08:27No, I don't think so.
08:28I think, see, Mr. Rajini Khan's time in politics is long over.
08:33I don't think that if he, even if he endorses, and I don't see him endorsing his son-in-law,
08:40even if he did that, I do not expect it to have any impact.
08:45In fact, had Rajini Khan himself contested also, he would have lost.
08:50He would have lost quite badly in those days.
08:52The reason for Vijay's success is the timing, and most importantly, the DMK's government's performance.
09:02Without the DMK, Vijay would not be in power.
09:06He owes his office to the DMK and its ruinous governance of five years.
09:12Okay, so that you say is the biggest factor.
09:14Mr. Shekhar Iyer, you know, if I were to focus for a moment on Danush,
09:18and the fact that you have all of these stars, like Mr. Sumansi Raman also highlighted,
09:22the fact that Shivakarthi Kane has also been dropping these hints that he could be looking at starting some kind
09:26of a movement.
09:27These stars sure may be inspired by Vijay, but do you think that it's easier said than done
09:33for all of them who are setting up these fan associations, thinking that the next step will be politics?
09:39Akshita, you know, just by adding Yakam to their, you know, fan club,
09:45you know, they are not going to follow the Vijay's route, because Vijay also did it in 2009.
09:50See, one more thing, see, Danush, Shivakarthi Kane, they are looking at their own social background,
09:56which is also very important in Tamil Nadu politics.
09:59But then, Vijay will command the support of women for some more months to come, or if not years,
10:05because that is his biggest plus point.
10:08And Danush or Shivakarthi Kane do not exactly fall in the league of being extremely popular,
10:15like Vijay with women voters particularly, because Vijay's success is largely because
10:20the minorities vote shifted, the women vote shifted, and also some sections of OBC votes.
10:27So therefore, you know, Tabernad is again back to this caste arithmetic, how it works.
10:32Well, Danush has also, and Shivakarthi Kane also, they have always played that, you know,
10:38the kind of youth from those underprivileged backgrounds, you know, working hard against
10:42the system and making it big.
10:44This is a typical of their stories compared to Vijay, whose films have been largely entertainers,
10:50more of a romantic thing, and also a person who fights for women.
10:54No, sure, sir, messaging matters in these films, but ultimately, I think it comes down to
10:58the kind of support, the fan base, the craze over these stars, and I don't think any of
11:04them can really compare to Vijay.
11:06Their film's success will matter for them to also be successful in politics, whether
11:10they like it or not.
11:11That's what helps, really, in setting them up for success in the manner that Vijay tasted.
11:16But thank you very much, Mr. Subhansi Raman, Mr. Shekhar Iyer, for joining us.
11:19Interesting that, you know, you're seeing the Tamil Nadu political landscape expanding, because
11:23for decades, it's been essentially ruled by just two political parties.
11:27And suddenly now, there are so many more options entering the fray.
11:32And so already, I can tell you, I know it's very, very early on, but in the next few months,
11:37years, we're going to see some very interesting political developments shaping up for 2029
11:41and 2031.
