Most Tamil cineastes consider Joseph Vijay Chandrashekhar,known globally as Vijay, to be the true inheritor of Rajinikanth’s throne. Indeed, Vijay’s fan base now threatens to out-run Rajnikanth’s .
The two iconic Tamil superstars have a lot in common, including their penchant for proletarian connectivity. The public loves Rajinikanth and Vijay as one of them.
Vishal Krishna, a Tamil star in his own right observes, “Both the actors are worshipped by their fans. We all look up to both of them.But Rajni Sir is a legend during his lifetime.His status is that of a God. No one can take his place, ever.”
But Vijay is getting there.And not always in the right way. His most recent aspiration,if sources close to him are to be believed, is to get into active politics.
In a recent speech, Vijay was heard imploring his fans not to accept money to cast their votes. This, perhaps innocuous, remark has triggered off a wave of debates in Tamil Nadu as to whether Vijay intends to get into politics.
He would be ill-advised to do so. Just like Rajinikanth, Vijay is not cut out for politics. They are both way too simple and down-to-earth to get into politics.
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s proclamation three years ago that he won’t pursue politics for health reasons, was a delayed manifestation of his resolve to stay away from politics. No one from his family wanted him in politics. It was just his followers and fans goading him on.
Like Rajinikanth , Vijay is not cut out for the dirty wheeling-dealing of politics.Vijay’s family too is dead against him joining politics, as was Mr Bachchan’s family when he had decided to wet his feet in the cesspool of politics. And we all know how that ended.
An actor-friend of Vijay remarks, “He doesn’t know politics. He would rather let his political ideology be reflected in the cinema that he does. Vijay is too simple and uncorrupted to get into politics.”
Our advice to Vijay is: stick to what you know best. You don’t need to broaden his horizons. They are already broad enough.