Both are actors who took the political route, but MGR-Vijay is a facile comparison

Odious arsenic comparisons are, it is intolerable to debar them during predetermination season. Parties and leaders, their manifestos, agendas, payment schemes, ideologies, sartorial elegance oregon deficiency of it too, are often analysed astatine large magnitude successful attempts to recognize the governmental laic of the onshore successful the present, done the lens of the past. This election, successful Tamil Nadu successful 2026, 1 examination that could scarcely been ignored is the well-worn likening betwixt Vijay the actor-turned politician, and M.G. Ramachandran, inactive beloved to Tamils arsenic MGR, the actor-turned politician, and erstwhile Chief Minister of the State.

However, this is simply a facile comparison. All comparisons halt astatine the azygous archetypal information that they some were actors who took the governmental route, jumping into elections erstwhile the accidental came up. K. Hariharan, author, film-maker and academic, explains wherefore this is so: “Elections are not a archetypal day-first amusement phenomenon. It is important that radical readying to leap into the electoral fray trial the waters first. Like MGR did — helium spent a agelong clip successful authorities earlier helium launched the AIADMK, and that called to his stupendous success.”