The Math Doesn't Exactly Math

As long as I can remember, I have been a Vijay fan.

I can’t point to one moment that started it. Being a 90s kid, it was gradual - hearing songs from Poove Unakkaga, watching Thullatha Manamum Thullum on Sun TV. It peaked around Ghilli and Sachein. By then, I was locked in. I didn’t know where that would lead.

The Fan Wars

I studied in a boys school. Most of our discussions revolved around movies, Vijay TV shows like Lollu Sabha and Yaar Manasula Yaaru, and cricket. And within those discussions, there were always the gentle fights. Vijay or Ajith. A.R. Rahman or Harris Jayaraj.

These were serious matters.

I was a proud Vijay and Harris Jayaraj fan. I defended Sura unapologetically after watching the first show. I argued, with full conviction, that June Ponal July Kaatre was inspired by Blue’s All Rise - inspiration, not a copy. The list goes on.

There was always this thing - Ajith fans are matured, Vijay fans are not. A similar angle existed for Rahman and Harris Jayaraj fans. We heard it all the time. We ignored it all the time.

Life Moves On

Before the WhatsApp group era, we had plenty of time - during the twelfth holidays before joining college, and again in the gap between college and joining a company. Whenever we’d meet, somehow there would be at least one discussion or fight about all this in our close friends circle.

After joining work, we didn’t have time to talk, let alone fight. Slowly, all of it diminished.

Once we crossed 30, movies became a distant thing. We watched fewer of them. Cared less about the reviews. Life filled up with other things.

But whenever we were in our native for Pongal or some other festival, if there was a Vijay movie releasing, we’d go. And somehow, even now, every time a Vijay song plays - or when friends are around to watch a Vijay movie - it feels good. The feelings got baked in a long time ago.

The Political Turn

I’m not much of a politically inclined person. When Vijay announced he was entering politics, I sincerely thought it was not the right choice. He could simply act, make people happy, earn well, and live a good life. Why leave that?

Then came the personal controversies. The Karur incident. Mixed feelings all around.

With only one experienced political leader by his side and every other person around him looking very immature, I honestly thought he might get some percentage of vote share but not win any seats. He hadn’t campaigned as intensely or as completely as others had.

The Magic

And then came election week.

Friends who are abroad started calling, asking us to vote for him. My daughter and her friends - around five years old - were asking me to vote for Vijay. The aura around the whole thing was something else.

Only I and the Election Commission know whom I voted for.

But I had not expected a result like this.

I’ve seen the analysis since - on branding, on the impact of social media, on political strategy. But the math doesn’t exactly math. Something beyond the analysis happened. Call it what you want. I’ll call it magic.

What I Keep Thinking About

Personally, I’m happy. The same kind of happy as the 10-year-old who got excited hearing Vijay songs on the radio.

I’m not sure what’s in store over the next five years. I’m equally excited and anxious.

But what stays with me is what Vijay actually did. He walked away from acting at the peak of his career. The one thing he was undeniably great at. He entered a space where everyone said he didn’t belong.

He kept grinding anyway. And he got something that nobody - probably not even he - had imagined.

The fan in me knows how to react to movies. Politics, I’m not so sure about. Whether he and the people around him can handle what comes next - I honestly don’t know.

I hope he delivers.