Chennai, Aug 21
Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay's newly founded political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK ) will unveil its flag on Thursday.
Vijay, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the new party flag will be unveiled at 9.15 a.m. at the party headquarters in Chennai's Panaiyur.
While the superstar did not mention the details of the flag, speculations are rife on the likely symbol on it. According to the information available, the "Vaagai" flower will be the central motif of the flag. In the Sangam period, kings had worn garlands made of these flowers to symbolise victory.
The flag will also feature the phrase "Pirapokkum Ella Uyirkkum" (all are born equal), a famous quote by Tamil saint and poet Tiruvalluvar. There are also speculations that the logo would be connected to this phrase.
Thalapathy Vijay's entry into politics will certainly change the present political combinations in Tamil Nadu. A superstar in his own right, his fan club "Vijay Makkal Iyyakam" has ten lakh members. The fan club was founded immediately after his entry as a lead actor in the movie "Naalaiya Theerpu" (1992) and is now registered as the "All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyyakam" (AITVMI).
In the 2021 local body polls, the AITVMI contested 169 seats and won 115, with Vijay's fan club outdoing fellow superstars Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), both of which drew a blank.
Vijay is focussing on the 2026 Assembly elections and has already announced that he will retire from movies after the highly-anticipated action thriller "GOAT", set to be released on September 5.
He will follow a list of Tamil film matinee idols who entered politics, right from the iconic M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) who floated the AIADMK and went on to become one of the most popular Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu to Dr J.Jayalalithaa, who was also a matinee idol and went to become one of the notable Chief Ministers of the state.
However, actors like Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth, and Kamal Haasan were not that successful in their own political stints.
Tamil movie industry's living legend, Rajinikanth had announced his political entry just before the 2016 Assembly polls, but subsequently backed off citing ill health.