The thread that binds politics and films in Tamil Nadu stretches a long way back. If the 2026 Assembly election is supposed to reveal actor Vijay’s metamorphosis as a political leader, in the past too, many stars were part of the twists and turns that have embellished Tamil Nadu’s robust electoral contests. Back in the Madras of the 1990s, specifically the summer of 1996, the rivalry between the AIADMK and the DMK was at an all-time high. And within the alliance sweepstakes, the Tamil Maanila Congress that splintered from the Indian National Congress allied with the DMK.
AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister, while M. Karunanidhi helmed the DMK-led coalition. Tempers remained frayed as the former actress and the ace writer drew their swords. In this cauldron of politics with its cinematic undertones, Rajinikanth walked in with all his swagger.
That within Poes Garden, there was bad blood between the Chief Minister and the superstar was no secret. A ruling party convoy halted Rajini from reaching his home and he stepped out of his car, lit up a cigarette, a crowd organically stirred and the traffic police were forced to clear a path for him. All this was part of the urban legend then. In effect, a hyper-local skirmish was to alter the political landscape.
