Actor Dhanush eyes political involvement following Vijay's success
The national award-winning actor renamed his fan club to Dhanush Welfare Movement to better mobilise supporters, according to The Economic Times.
National award-winning actor Dhanush is reportedly interested in politics following the success of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, according to The Economic Times. On October 14, Dhanush renamed his fan club to the Dhanush Welfare Movement (Dhanush Narpani Iyakkam) to add structure and purpose for mobilisation.
During an event in Tiruvallur district on July 27, Dhanush told his fans that they could do something amazing if they united. Speculation regarding his political interests increased after he organised a meeting for female fans at a private college near Chennai on October 25, where he gifted silver lamps engraved with a lotus.
The Dhanush Welfare Movement clarified that the lotus emblem on the lamps was a manufacturer's hallmark. However, Vijayabaskar M, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, suggested that the incident, combined with the actor's devotion to Shiva, could indicate a 'soft Hindutva' ideology.
Political scientist Gilles Verniers of CERI, Sciences Po Paris, said Vijay's success will inspire peers to look at politics because cinema is closely intertwined with Dravidian politics. Verniers noted that actors who fought injustice on screen were often viewed as having those qualities in their personal lives.
Author Vignesh Rajahmani noted that film industry figures in Tamil Nadu politics traditionally fall into two categories: charismatic, politically astute leaders like MGR or J Jayalalithaa, and those who possess charisma without political astuteness, such as Sivaji Ganesan or Vijayakanth.