Odious as comparisons are, it is impossible to avoid them during election season. Parties and leaders, their manifestos, agendas, welfare schemes, ideologies, sartorial elegance or lack of it too, are often analysed at great length in attempts to understand the political lay of the land in the present, through the lens of the past. This election, in Tamil Nadu in 2026, one comparison that could scarcely been ignored is the well-worn likening between Vijay the actor-turned politician, and M.G. Ramachandran, still beloved to Tamils as MGR, the actor-turned politician, and former Chief Minister of the State.

However, this is a facile comparison. All comparisons stop at the single original fact that they both were actors who took the political route, jumping into elections when the chance came up. K. Hariharan, author, film-maker and academic, explains why this is so: “Elections are not a first day-first show phenomenon. It is important that people planning to jump into the electoral fray test the waters first. Like MGR did — he spent a long time in politics before he launched the AIADMK, and that called to his stupendous success.”