Winning voters is harder than developing a fan following

Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth may compete for the same political space

All these years, the Tamil film industry had enough space for both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, two stars with wide fan bases who could deliver one blockbuster after another. But Tamil Nadu’s political arena is likely to be too small for both of them. With their entry into politics, the actors will realise sooner than later that each can only succeed at the other’s expense. Both Mr Rajinikanth and Mr Haasan are vying to fill the same political space, the vacuum created by the death of Jayalalithaa.

A huge chunk of the AIADMK’s vote-bank is actually an anti-DMK vote-bank; the converse is true for a large section of the DMK’s vote-bank. Mr Haasan, like Mr Rajinikanth, can try to tap into this negative sentiment as a third alternative. At the very least, Mr Haasan appears willing to articulate a political programme with a vision and stated goals, in marked contrast to Mr Rajinikanth who did not go beyond vague generalities while announcing his entry into politics. But Mr Haasan will be mistaken if he assumes his star status in the film world will automatically open doors for him in politics. His stardom may have earned him immediate attention, but he will need to mobilise people around their own interests if he wants to be a credible alternative. Otherwise, a Rajini-Kamal joust might be no more than an interesting sidelight in the next Assembly election. The Hindu, February 23