The upcoming Pongal season is likely to be one of mixed emotions for Vijay fans in Tamil Nadu. There is the feverish anticipation for their Vijay Anna’s latest, Jana Nayagan, and also the heartbreak over his retirement from movies with the film’s release on January 9.
But for Vijay himself, Jana Nayagan is not merely one last blast on the screens before he dedicates himself to full-time politics. The film’s release is going to be a prequel of sorts for the clashes that will unfold this summer during the state’s Assembly elections, the biggest political battle of his life till date. That is not just because Jana Nayagan, as the trailer generously hinted, is ‘political’ in its theme, but also because releasing a day later is Parasakthi, starring Sivakarthikeyan and discussing themes close to the Dravidian heart, like Hindi imposition.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) set to engage in an electoral battle in a few months, what will unfold in Tamil Nadu theatres over January 9 and 10 will be nothing short of a proxy battle.
For Vijay, the stakes are particularly high: the film is positioned as a cinematic farewell and a bridge to his political ambitions, carefully loaded with mass appeal and ideological signalling. In Tamil Nadu, the Pongal window is expected to turn into an arena where box-office numbers, screen allocations, and audience loyalties acquire political meaning.
Two ‘political’ films
Directed by Sudha Kongara, Parasakthi consciously evokes the legacy of Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s eponymous 1952 classic that reshaped Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics. Safe to say, the title is heavy with historical and ideological freight. Set against the backdrop of a revolutionary student movement resisting Hindi imposition in the 1960s, Sivakarthikeyan’s film, as suggested by its trailer, wears its Dravidian politics on its sleeve.
Parasakthi is being promoted by Sun Network, owned by Kalanithi Maran, the grandnephew of Kalaignar Karunanidhi.
Jana Nayagan, directed by H Vinoth, is the unofficial remake of the Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari, which won the National Award for the Best Telugu film in 2023. Bhagavanth Kesari is a commercial film, the central theme being women empowerment.
However, as evidenced in the trailer, Vijay’s version of the film is heavily peppered with dialogues and references that serve as commentary on his political entry. For instance, his name in the film is Thalapathy Vetri Kondan, abbreviated as TVK. He has also tweaked his iconic dialogue “I am waiting” (seen in his films Thuppaki, Master) to “I am coming,” referring to his political entry. In another scene, Vijay wields a whip, like former chief minister MG Ramachandran (MGR), and thunders at politicians: “Instead of entering politics to serve the people, you barge into it to loot and kill innocent people.”
Vijay’s decision to do Jana Nayagan as his last film before turning to politics full time is a careful choice and checks all the right boxes, says journalist Kavitha Muralidharan. The film is a commercial-entertainer that not just entertains his fans, but has women-empowerment as a theme and is loaded with political references, enough to give an adrenaline rush to his constituency, she says.
Currently, Jana Nayagan is embroiled in a controversy as the Censor Board of Film Certification is yet to certify the movie. Coincidentally, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also summoned him to appear before them on January 12 in the Karur stampede case. These moves are seen as a pressure tactic by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Vijay has refused to join its alliance.
The clash on screen
It is speculated that Sivakarthikeyan’s Parasakthi, which was originally expected to release on January 14, was advanced due to theatre-sharing issues and also with the aim of denting the collections of Jana Nayagan.
The audio launch of the film was telecast on Sun TV on January 4, the same day when ‘Thalapathy Thiruvizha,’ the audio launch of Jana Nayagan, was aired on Zee TV. The reasons for it could also be a TRP battle. However, the noise around it largely got drowned in the epic drama of Star Vijay channel’s reality show Bigg Boss Tamil, which witnessed the eviction of two contestants for their abusive behaviour, which generated outrage across the state.
Actor Sivakarthikeyan has denied that his movie is competing with Vijay’s film. He said that they had planned for the movie’s release for the Pongal festive season after the Jana Nayagan team had promoted the film as a Deepavali release.
Jana Nayagan was supposed to release for Deepavali in October 2025, but its release was postponed reportedly due to the intervention of the OTT platform that bought the rights for the film.
In his previous film GOAT, Vijay had symbolically passed a mantle to Sivakarthikeyan as his successor. Recalling their cordial relationship, Sivakarthikeyan urged the audience to celebrate Jana Nayagan on January 9.
“When someone who entertained us for 33 years is saying that it’s his last film, we must celebrate it. Then, on January 10, let’s all celebrate Parasakthi. This Pongal is great for Kollywood. Those associated with a film will celebrate that film, but it’s good for cinema when we celebrate each other’s films as well. No matter who says what, this Pongal is an Annan-Thambi Pongal for all,” he said.
According to industry insiders, Parasakthi was pushed to January 10 due to theatre-share issues. “If Parasakthi was to release on January 14, Jana Nayagan would have got more screens as the norm of theatre-share agreement is usually for a minimum of two weeks,” said a trade insider.
Tamil Nadu has around 1,164 screens, and if Jana Nayagan had a solo release, the film could have collected a share of more than Rs 140 crores. The last two films of Vijay – Leo and GOAT – made similar numbers.
“The clash of these two films is also likely to affect the collections of Jana Nayagan and affect Vijay’s star value politically. If these films are released simultaneously, theatres would be equally divided. There is also a speculation that the theatre owners are being pressured into allotting big screens equally to both the films,” the industry insider said.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the bookings of Jana Nayagan have been record-breaking. However, it has been slow in a few areas due to disagreements over revenue sharing from ticket sales. According to trade insiders, the makers of Jana Nayagan are demanding 75% of the ticket share. Theatre owners are reluctant to pay such an amount considering they reportedly suffered losses due to such a deal for Vijay’s previous film GOAT. Under such conditions, theatre owners seem keen to strike a deal with the makers of Parasakthi.
The image makeover exercise
According to Kavitha Muralidharan, Vijay has chosen to remake the Telugu film to salvage his image before turning into a politician.
Vijay made his debut as a lead actor with Naalaiya Theerpu (1992), directed by his father SA Chandrasekhar. Until recently, his films were notoriously misogynistic. “Using cinema as a political tool in Tamil Nadu is not new. The most radical film that fully used it for the purpose was Parasakthi (1952). If you notice Vijay’s film trajectory, he did not intend to become a politician early in his career. All his movies were largely politically incorrect,” Kavitha says.
According to her, Vijay salvaging his image through a film without offering a genuine apology to women does not set the right precedent as a politician.
On the clash between Jana Nayagan and Sivakarthikeyan’s Parasakthi, Kavitha says that Jana Nayagan serves very little purpose for Vijay’s political ambitions, unlike Parasakthi (1952) which remains a masterpiece in Tamil cinema for its powerful writing and fiery dialogues, which questioned blind faith, caste oppression, religious hypocrisy, and social injustice. However, even though the new Parasakthi is a period drama set against the backdrop of anti-Hindi agitations, the political outcome of the film is uncertain, she observes.