India, Jan. 7 -- The election year is always heavy in Tamil Nadu, even for the film industry. The top stars in Tamil cinema have always been political figures, even if they have not been active politicians. But this year, Vijay is reviving that old Tamil tradition of the reigning superstar turning to politics. His final film - Jana Nayagan - is as much cinema as it is part of his political campaign. And unsurprisingly, it is pitted against a film that is the ideological opposite of it - Parasakthi.

However, what began as a simple box office clash between two films has now evolved into an ideological battle between two political parties and their respective supporters.

Jana Nayagan, Vijay's final film, had locked the Pongal weekend for i...