In a surprising recent development, two legends of the Tamil film industry – ‘Maestro’ Ilaiyaraaja and famous director and actor K. Bhagyaraj – have come out and endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Central government and the BJP in a state where the party has struggled to find its feet and has faced severe political criticism.
While Mr. Bhagyaraj quickly backtracked and apologised for his harsh comments on the critics of PM Modi reiterating his allegiance to the Dravidian ideology, the comments made by two film icons have raised eyebrows among many observers as DMK and AIADMK has always had a tight leash on the film industry when in power.
Even in the last decade, actor Vadivelu was completely sidelined from the industry after he openly campaigned against the AIADMK - DMDK alliance during 2011 State Assembly elections and found himself on the losing side. Actor Vijay, too, faced the wrath of the ruling party in 2013 after he allegedly fell our of favour with the then ruling party resulting in the producer of his film, Thalaivaa (August, 2013), facing huge losses as he could not release the film on time.
