Pawan Kalyan sparked political and social media debates in the wake of the open statement that he felt “jealous” after seeing Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party grow in Tamil Nadu so quickly.
The actor and politician commented on the increasing clout of film stars in South India, and the shift in the political situation in neighbouring states. His statement rapidly set afire online, with fans and political observers challenging the significance of his remarks.
Pawan Kalyan, who crossed over into politics under the banner of his party Jana Sena Party, acknowledged the strong ascent of Vijay’s political scene in Tamil Nadu. He reported that he felt pangs of envy in the face of the huge public reception and momentum that TVK has been able to generate in a short timeframe.
Vijay went ahead with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam formally earlier this year, one of the largest political entries from a South Indian superstar of recent times. Ever since that time, the actor has drawn tremendous fan, young group and political eyes across Tamil Nadu.
TVK grew in visibility, large-scale outreach to the public and grassroots action, all factors which have generated speculation such as Vijay’s long term political intent. His oratory as well as his public appearances have also elicited powerful responses from much of Tamil Nadu’s political circle.
Pawan Kalyan’s statement is being hailed by a lot of people simply as a rarity of an actor to be truthful coming from an actor-politician who gets the difficult thing of building a political movement from the ground up. Political analysts observed the similarity between Pawan Kalyan and Vijay to the extent that both are fan-driven politics, just with the trajectory of their political trajectories following two different paths.
While P. Kalyan has spent years in Andhra Pradesh politics and networking, Vijay has a fledgling presence in politics. Yet, the speed with which TVK has expanded its public representation seems to have shocked leaders, with neighbouring states as part of a reaction against it as well.
Comments from Pawan Kalyan were also met with a split in the reaction, with some commenting that he was doing nothing to defend Vijay, whereas others said the comment is the equivalent of the politicians having something to gain through their political rivalry with the South Indian celebrity elite.
Vijay's backers hailed the remarks as a testament to TVK extending beyond Tamil Nadu. Jana Sena supporters were quick to concede that Pawan Kalyan’s political struggles and victories were not something that could be compared to Vijay’s earlier political force. The ascendance of film actors in politics has long been a staple of South Indian political culture.
It will take a century to see people like the legendary leaders of M. G. Ramachandran and N. T. Rama Rao take their careers to the public stage, but the movie and politics have a symbiotic relationship in the region, with today's actors joining in public affairs. Indeed, observers in the political mainstream say Vijay´s ticket to power in the electoral process will hinge on how well TVK brings support of the fans to reality and turns what had previously been an impotent grassroots organisation into a coherent political landscape.
Simultaneously, Pawan Kalyan’s comments demonstrate that Vijay is gaining traction on the regional politics front before he even makes his name at an open stage. With all of this celebrity politics back in South India, Pawan Kalyan’s “jealous” comment has injected a whole dimension to the debate around Vijay’s growing political power in Tamil Nadu.
