Gone Are Days When Film Stars Could Become CM In Tamil Nadu. Cinema No Longer A Tool Of Social Churn

People wait in queues to pay their last respects to DMDK founder-leader Vijayakanth, at Island ground in Chennai on December 29, 2023.

With the demise of actor-turned-politician 'Captain' Vijayakanth in Chennai on Thursday, it's officially the end of cine stars making it as big bosses in politics. Even in film-crazy Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the trend seems to be diminishing. Even for someone like Vijayakanth, who had fashioned himself after the legendary and iconic MG Ramachandran in his personal life, social service, and the choice of films, it wasn't easy as movie stardom did not catapult him to the top as a political