For 30 Years I Saw Vijay as a Hero. Can I Suddenly See as CM?

Disclaimer: This post is not a political analysis or judgment on Vijay as Chief Minister of the state. It is purely a personal reflection from someone who has been a Vijay fan for nearly 30 years, trying to process the emotional shift from seeing him as Actor Vijay to seeing CM Vijay leading an entire state.

I have been a Vijay fan since childhood… probably from around 10 years old. Funny enough, the source for that was my brother 😄 He was a hardcore Thala Ajith fan. So naturally, I became Team Vijay.

Since then, every Vijay or Ajith movie release in our house meant full-on fun war. Who danced better, who gave bigger hit, whose intro scene had more mass, who acted better… endless teasing, mocking, commenting, and kalakkaradhu. Pure sibling entertainment.

Thirty Years of Being a Vijay Fan

Over time, Vijay became more than just an actor I liked. He became part of my growing-up years.

His songs.
His intro scenes.
His dance.
His screen presence.
That style.

And his songs? Total stress buster for me.

There were so many times when I was stressed, mentally drained, or just exhausted from life and work… and somehow his songs always worked like an instant mood reset.

Just play the song and dance the stress out as if nobody is watching 😄

Funny thing is, I even remember lyrics for so many of his songs.

Thalapathy Kachery.
Thee Thalapathy.
Naa Ready.
Ella Pugazhum.
Vaathi Coming.
Let me tell you a kutty story… ❤️ and the list goes on!

Loyalty vs Logic

Of course, being a fan does not mean blindly liking everything.

Even I didn’t like some of his movies.

Kurvi? Sorry, no 😂

Sura… I still cannot digest that movie till now.

And then Puli… what a movie that was. 🤣

And some dance moves… I still cannot fully digest Ranjithame song some dance sequence 😄

But funny thing is, whenever one of his movies flopped or something felt cringe, Vijay-hater friends, family, and colleagues would immediately start their commentary session.

“Still Vijay fan ah?”

“After this also?”

“Seriously?”

But somehow, I always defended him. I would talk about his charisma, screen presence, growth, discipline, fan connect… something or the other.

Logic sometimes weak. Loyalty strong 😄

Basically, once I decided I am a Vijay fan, “Naan oru thadava mudivu pannita, en pecha naane kekka maten” mode.

That is why one dialogue from Dragon movie stayed with me. There is a dialogue about being an RCB fan. The heroine asks, “Are you an RCB fan?” The hero says, “Yes… because just because they are losing all the time, can we change our favourite team?”

The moment I heard that, I smiled. That was literally me with Vijay.

One flop or ten flops, one cringe dance move or five weird scripts… somehow my fan mode never changed in the last 30 years.

The Biggest Plot Twist

Then came politics.

When Vijay announced his political entry, I honestly did not sit and think deeply about governance, manifesto, or policies. Throughout the party announcement, campaign speeches, and election season, I naturally found myself rooting for him. Somewhere as a fan, I genuinely wished he became CM as well.

And then it happened. Close to a clean sweep. The impossible suddenly became real.

Vijay is going to become Chief Minister.

But something strange happened. During the swearing-in moment, I felt something unexpected. I was watching him.

I knew this was real. I believed what I was seeing.

But somewhere deep inside…

I still couldn’t fully process it.

I still couldn’t believe it.

And that confused me.

I still can’t believe or fully see him as CM.

I asked myself…Why?

Then slowly I understood. My heart and my brain were reacting very differently. That is when I realized something funny.

When My Heart and Brain Disagreed

Me as Actor Vijay fan and me as CM Vijay fan were behaving like two completely different people.

My heart said: That’s Thalapathy. He can do it.

My brain said: Wait.

Being a mass hero and being a Chief Minister are two completely different things.

That is when something hit me hard. As an actor fan, I can overlook many things.

Weak script?

Okay.

Average movie?

Fine.

Over-the-top scene?

No problem.

Random dance move?

Manage pannalam 😄

Because fan mode works differently.

Emotion first.

Logic later.

But as a citizen? I cannot use fan logic. That is where everything changes.

In politics… There is no background music. No punch dialogues…Only accountability. Responsibility. And maybe that is exactly why I struggled.

Final reflection – Actor Vijay vs CM Vijay

For more than 30 years, my brain stored Vijay in one image.

Slow-motion walk. Intro song. Dance. Punch dialogues. Mass entry. Favourite Hero.

Now suddenly seeing that same person sitting in Secretariat, reviewing policies, making governance decisions, handling public administration…

Maybe Vijay genuinely intends to do good for the people of Tamil Nadu.

Maybe Vijay is a good leader.

Maybe time will slowly change that actor image in my mind.

I don’t know. But one thing I realized from all this… Being a fan and being a voter are not the same. Fan mode is emotional. Citizen mode has to be logical.

As a fan, I wanted Vijay to win.

As a citizen, I want Vijay to govern well.

That is a huge difference.

After Vijay became CM, another interesting shift happened at home. My mother has now become a fan of him.

Not Actor Vijay. CM Vijay.

So now our conversations at home have become quite funny 😄

Me as Actor Vijay fan. Mom as Vijay CM fan.

Role continues… just in a different version now.

Earlier, my debates at home were with my brother, Vijay vs Ajith.

Now it is with my mother, Actor Vijay vs CM Vijay.

Looks like Vijay-related debates were always destined to continue in my life. Jokes apart, this experience taught me something bigger. Growing up is not about losing admiration.

It is about learning when emotion should lead and when logic should. And maybe maturity is being able to respect both.

The fan in me still whistles for Vijay. 🤭

But the citizen in me now waits, watches, and asks questions. ✌️

Read my other stories here.