New Delhi, Jan. 6 -- Chennai/Bengaluru: After Tamil Nadu witnessed a political storm in 2017, when the then-ruling AIADMK started breaking apart following the death of its leader and chief minister J. Jayalalithaa the previous December, things had settled into an uneasy status quo. That changed on 2 February 2024, when Tamil film star Joseph Vijay Chandrashekar, then 50 years old, announced the formation of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). In doing so, he joined the long list of Tamil film stars who have sought a political career on the heels of a successful movie career.

Nearly two years on, veteran politicians and seasoned election observers are still wondering whether the box-office wunderkind's entry into politics...