Two weeks have passed since Vijay walked off the political campaign trail and into the Chief Minister’s office, and Tamil cinema is already being asked a question it may not have a clean answer to: who fills the space he left behind?
When this question was posed to RJ Balaji, whose latest film Karuppu is currently running to packed theatres across Tamil Nadu, addressed it head-on. “There’s nothing like that. Vijay sir becoming the Chief Minister makes me very happy,” he said, dismissing the idea that the industry is in any kind of trouble following Vijay’s full departure from screen to state government.
Balaji went further, pointing to the roster of working stars who never went anywhere. Suriya, he said, is very much a part of the industry, and there are plenty of other heroes active in Tamil cinema. “There are plenty of heroes in the industry and there is no issue or void,” he said.
The comments come at a moment when the question is being asked more seriously than before. Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 May 2026, ending six decades of dominance by the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu. His party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), secured 108 seats in the 2026 assembly election, emerging as the single largest party, and formed a coalition government with the support of the Indian National Congress and several smaller parties. It was a watershed result, but it also meant that one of Tamil cinema’s biggest box office draws was now permanently out of the picture as an actor.
Vijay had announced his retirement from cinema and formal entry into politics back in February 2024, launching TVK as a secular alternative to the established Dravidian parties. For his fans and well wishers, there was stipulated period of time to prepare for the actor’s departure. But the finality of electoral victory has brought in the conversation about what Tamil cinema looks like without him at the top.
The film and its director
Balaji is perhaps better placed than most to speak to that question. In one of his recent interviews, he recounted that he had originally written the script for Karuppu with Vijay in mind. When that did not progress, Balaji met Suriya before the release of Kanguva in 2024 and narrated the same script to him. Suriya agreed to take on the role, and the film was produced under Dream Warrior Pictures. The result: Karuppu grossed Rs 150 crore worldwide in its first five days, becoming the highest-grossing film in Suriya’s career and the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2026.
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Vijay’s supposedly last film
Adding a different kind of complexity to the conversation is the fate of Vijay’s own final film. Jana Nayagan, the political action thriller directed by H. Vinoth and widely seen as Vijay’s swan song before politics, remains locked in an ongoing standoff with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), five months after its original January 9, 2026 Pongal release was derailed.
The film had initially cleared the examining committee stage, with the board leaning toward a U/A (16+) certificate with certain cuts. However, an internal objection by a board member, citing concerns over religious harmony, stalled the process entirely.
The trouble did not stop there. On April 9, a high-definition print of the uncertified film was leaked online, spreading across Telegram channels and piracy networks within hours. The makers moved from the Madras High Court all the way to the Supreme Court in their efforts to clear the film for release. As of now, speculation is mounting that Jana Nayagan could release in upcoming weeks, though no official date has been confirmed.
The connection between Tamil cinema and Tamil Nadu politics runs deep. Vijay joins a long list of actors who have entered politics in the state, starting with M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, followed by Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth, and Kamal Haasan. Vijay has already gone further than most of them, winning a state election outright on his first attempt.
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