As Vijay’s suit and lunchbox trends, Udhayanidhi Stalin says everything’s ‘reels with him’

A month into Tamil Nadu’s first non-Dravidian government in over five decades, the conversation around Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s administration is still dominated by his wardrobe and his lunchbox rather than his policies. Hashtags have been trending on X over posts about the cost of his suit and what he eats for lunch, prompting DMK leader and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin to renew his criticism that the TVK government remains stuck in campaign mode, treating governance as content rather than addressing the state’s pressing issues.

The wardrobe story has a real, traceable origin. The black suit Vijay wore at his swearing-in was designed by Sabir Ahmed and modelled on a look from his film Beast, with Vijay himself choosing the colour black to signal power and authority. The choice marked a deliberate break from the white shirt and veshti that Tamil Nadu chief ministers have traditionally worn at their oath-taking. The look took on a commercial life of its own soon after, when a Chennai store began selling a combo package of Vijay’s jacket, shirt, belt, shoes and trousers for 3,999 rupees, a flyer that went viral before the shop quietly deleted it.

Similarly, photos of Vijay eating a simple home-cooked meal from a tiffin box at his Secretariat desk, using his hands instead of cutlery, spread widely online, with many users praising what they called his disciplined, down-to-earth approach to the job. Combined with reports of him keeping regular office hours and asking his convoy not to inconvenience commuters, the lunchbox photos became shorthand on social media for a leader supposedly uninterested in VIP trappings.

Also Read: ‘He was never meant to be just a hero on screen: Samantha Ruth Prabu on meeting CM Vijay

Speaking to media, Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “TVK fans are trending about Thalapathy Vijay’s cost suit, what he’s eating, but CM must talk on issues of Tamil Nadu. CM Vijay is still in campaigning mode; everything is reels, everything is content for them.”

Before they became political rivals, Udhayanidhi had produced Vijay’s 2008 film Kuruvi, which was also his debut project as producer.