Shortly after Udhayanidhi Stalin, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) youth wing secretary and MLA from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai was sworn in as the state minister on Wednesday, December 14, he announced that the upcoming Tamil movie Maamannan would be his last film as an actor.
Speaking to the media after the swearing in ceremony on December 14, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, said in Tamil, “No, I am not acting anymore. I was supposed to act in a movie produced by Kamal sir. When he came to know about this, he was the first one to congratulate. The last film would be Maamannan with Thiru Mari Selvaraj,” he said. However, it is unclear whether Udhayanidhi will continue to produce and distribute films under his home banner Red Giant Movies.
Udhayanidhi distributed Lokesh Kanagaraj’s hit action drama Vikram starring Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi, under his home banner Red Giant Movies earlier this year. In July this year, Kamal Haasan had announced that his home banner Raaj Kamal Films International would be bankrolling a film starring Udhayanidhi in the lead.
Maamannan is an upcoming Indian Tamil political thriller written and directed by Karnan and Pariyerum Perumal fame Mari Selvaraj and produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin. Other than Udhayanidhi, the cast includes actors Vadivelu and Keerthy Suresh in pivotal roles. The film went on floors in March this year.
Udhayanidhi was given the portfolio of Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development. The move has been garnering different kinds of responses. It is being seen by some as the next step in grooming Udhayanidhi to succeed Stalin as Chief Minister and chief of the DMK, while some have slammed DMK for promoting dynasty politics. Some also questioned whether Udhayanidhi’s career as an actor would hinder his political journey.