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Politics of rasigar mandrams in Tamil Nadu from MGR to Vijay
Tamil Nadu's unique fan culture, embodied by 'rasigar mandrams,' has proven to be a powerful force in politics, mirroring the impact of MGR. Vijay's fan club, which evolved into TVK, successfully mobilized grassroots support, demonstrating the enduring influence of these organizations in launching political careers and driving community engagement.
Chennai: Beyond performing paal abhishekam, where gallons of milk cascade down towering cutouts and posters of their favourite superstars, fan culture in Tamil Nadu is unlike anything else. Rasigar mandrams are much more than ordinary fan clubs. In many cases, they serve as launch vehicles for an actor’s political debut, blurring the line between the silver screen and the ballot box.
In Vijay’s case too, it was his rasigar mandram that eventually evolved into TVK, providing a shadow army for the megastar-turned-potential chief minister of Tamil Nadu. “One thought the era of rasigar mandrams powering political ambitions was over, but TVK’s victory has proved otherwise,” analyst Sumanth C Raman told ET.
“After MGR, this is the first time these rasigar mandrams have had such an impact, as they provide grassroots mobilisation. Even Vijayakanth during his prime drew considerable traction from his fan club, but Vijay’s success in harnessing his fan base is reminiscent of MGR.”
The Vijay Rasigar Mandram was started in 2008 and became involved in a number of social service activities, in keeping with the tradition of such fan clubs in the state. “Vijay was also seen actively participating in functions where prizes were awarded to meritorious students, and that created a lot of buzz as well,” Raman said. “His fan club also uses social media very effectively. They are extremely active across multiple platforms and that certainly helped to push his party’s message.”
ECR P Saravanan, TVK’s winning candidate from Sholinganallur, had told ET in November 2024 that there were formally 85,000 Vijay rasigar mandrams across the state, each with around 25 members, and that collectively all of them would transition into becoming part of TVK. The model was such that the district president of the fan club would become the president of that particular district for TVK while the members under him would become party members.
While rasigar mandrams have existed in the state since the 1920s for theatre artists, they took their current shape during MGR’s time in the 1960s. “These kinds of fan clubs, where the actor himself was fuelling and funding them, came into existence with MGR,” music historian V Sriram explained.
“What distinguished them from earlier fan clubs was the concept of social contribution. Theatre artists, and even some film artists, had fans, but they did little beyond watching plays and cheering for them. Here, however, it became a matter of the actor harnessing his influence to encourage fans to do something for the community.”
Sriram said during natural disasters, fans would pitch in with relief efforts. Stars like Kamal Haasan encouraged fans to donate blood too. It was essentially the star channelling fans to act on his behalf, thereby enhancing his public image.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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Tamil Nadu's unique fan culture, embodied by 'rasigar mandrams,' has proven to be a powerful force in politics, mirroring the impact of MGR. Vijay's fan club, which evolved into TVK, successfully mobilized grassroots support, demonstrating the enduring influence of these organizations in launching
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