Vijay’s Karur rally stampede: The problem of star worship and celebrity obsession is at the heart of the tragedy

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It’s heartbreaking when such a sickening tragedy is witnessed with a layer of separation. We know the numbers, we see graphic images of parents crying over their dead children, and yet we strangely feel detached. We blame the fans for putting themselves in harm’s way for a glimpse of their favourite star. But we overlook the cultural affliction of ‘star worship’ that lit the spark. It was not one thing leading to another, it was a tangled web of politics and celebrity culture.

Vijay has enjoyed a reputation in recent years as one of India’s biggest stars, and has been celebrated for his charismatic screen presence and virtuoso performances that have defined a genre of cinema. The superstar also represents a particular strain of Tamil popular culture — of matinee idols aiming for political office after a lucrative career in front of the camera. Vijay is the latest in a long line of actors-turned-politicians – M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa, Vijayakanth, and Kamal Haasan being the most prominent among them.

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In Tamil Nadu, where cinema is more than mere glossy entertainment and millions across age groups treat actors as demigods, Vijay is lovingly called ‘Thalapathy’. The word literally translates to ‘commander’ or ‘leader’, and is a giveaway to the sway and cultural capital he enjoys. As often happens in such cases, reel-life heroism transcends the rectangular frame and people start to see the stars in the light of what they do on screen.

Vijay’s super stardom was not overnight, but a gradual ascent spanning 33 years. He redefined norms and challenged the conventionally accepted ‘looks’ of a movie star with his everyman charm and grounded offscreen persona. He has always been the intensely relatable, mild-mannered superstar, whom one can look up to for inspiration. Vijay earned his laurels the hard way, going through an earlier phase filled with criticism, put-downs and even mockery for his unconventional looks as a leading man.

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The younger generation knows him for his larger-than-life roles, with which he built cultural currency. His idiosyncratic style of rendering lines, groovy footwork in dance sequences and physical agility in action scenes, have made him a defining superstar in Tamil cinema over the last 25 years. After a baby-faced debut under his father’s direction in Naalaiya Theerpu (1992), his career took off in the 1990s with a string of romantic hits. Films like Poove Unakkaga (1996), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Thullatha Manamum Thullum (1999) and Kushi (2000) earned him a big following. The projected boy-next-door image helped him connect to a generation that saw Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth cede some space to younger faces

Vijay chose his scripts wisely, and followed the Rajinikanth playbook with a fine mix of romance, action and commercial elements in his films. He was elevated to superstardom with the release of films like Ghilli (2004) and the Prabhu Deva-directed cop flick Pokkiri (2007), which established his now-popular performance style, distinct from the milder earlier version. He owned the screens and looked convincing as an action star, like it’s nobody’s business.

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Vijay then opened up new markets for Tamil cinema with blockbusters which invariably featured a leading man from a middle-class background, tasked with saving the downtrodden. This onscreen persona caught on quickly, and besides improving his box office prospects, helped him connect with a generation that wanted a star to voice their everyday problems in the syntax of loud tentpole entertainers.

Vijay then built on his name with glossy, templated action films carrying social messages – Thuppakki (2012), Kaththi (2014), Mersel (2017), Sarkar (2018) and Bigil (2019) being some of them. The films dwelt on deep social issues, with neat bows tied up at the end, narratively and thematically. Films like Kaththi and Mersal struck a chord with the common man. Their talking points came to be identified as Vijay’s own, and the actor became a beacon for democratic values and inclusivity amid right-wing ascent.

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In those years, there was always talk of Vijay’s impending entry into politics, following in the footsteps of Rajinikanth.( The Thalaivar, though, never plunged into active politics, hovering in the margins before returning to concentrate on his films.) Vijay kept his cards close before announcing a few months ago that his upcoming film Jana Nayagan would be his final one before the start of a career in politics. The announcement saddened fans who then channeled their energy into turning up at events of his newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Vijay seemed to transfer his fan base into a political base. The talking points of Periyar, Ambedkar and caste politics endeared him with many sections, but clearly it was his larger-than-life screen persona that attracted the big crowds.

Audiences crave being in the same space and breathing the same air as that of their favourite stars at such celebrity sightings. This, along with the apparent mismanagement, led to the unfortunate tragedy in Karur.

Vijay has long been seen as a worthy successor to Superstar Rajinikanth in the way he commands the love and affection of millions. This fed into the social dynamic seen in parts of the South where fans make their devotion for a superstar a part of their personality. Stars base their career capital on this devoted fandom and use it to advance their prospects. The more fans you manage to engage, the more successful you are as a screen icon – it’s that basic a function.

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When cinema gets so intertwined with our daily lives, conversations about films and stars go beyond water-cooler breaks. Stars are bestowed with a rarefied dignity as aspirational figures of mythic propositions, the lines are blurry at best. Vijay – in a career juggling romantic star and action hero avatars – slowly built an enviable track record as one of the most successful Tamil actors of his time. He is someone who rarely made public appearances and is introverted to a fault. For his diehard fans, a direct glance would conjure up fantasies of a personal connection with a star they had grown up watching on screen.

Many are pointing fingers at Vijay for being late for the meeting and making the assembled crowds grow tired and frustrated. But that is just apportioning blame. The bigger issue in the Karur stampede is the way we engage with celebrity culture.

Vijay has been appearing rigorously at political rallies to spread his political message among the masses before the Tamil Nadu state elections due in the summer of 2026. But a closer look at the images where Vijay tries to make his way through a sea of people would show more starstruck fans than political followers. More than an eagerness for a new political ideology, they were apparently there to see their idol up close.

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Many are pointing fingers at Vijay being late for the meeting ending up making the assembled crowds grow tired and frustrated as one of the major driving forces behind the escalation of the stampede. But that alone won’t suffice. This is not supposed to be a moment for immoral baton passing for the concerned parties, all just trying to evade the responsibility. The Karur stampede is as much a systematic problem as it a problem with celebrityhood. It’s a vicious cycle of mutually inclusive shortcomings in event management and political decision making.

Vijay, has been for the past few months engaged in rigorous public appearances and political rallies to kick of his new party’s political slogan to the masses. Anyone who caught glimpses of the superstar actor addressing over populated, over excited fans at these meetings could see that there was a desperation to the way the fans turned up their favorite icon. You could see Vijay navigate a sea of obsessed fans, who made their way into the events not out of any sense of politics alignment with the newly minted politician, but as merely star struck fans looking at their favorite from up close. They were not there our of some political solidarity, but merely to see the star translate his onscreen image into his real life persona, something that the star also understands.

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After the tragedy, Vijay was seen quickly leaving the spot to take a chartered flight to his Chennai home rather than stay behind to see how he could help. Though the superstar expressed his sadness and shock at the tragedy a few hours later on platform ‘X’, it was too little, too late.

Social media has been quick to blame the organisers and the crowd for the suffocating chaos that triggered the stampede. But deep down we know this was not just about terrible logistics – it was also about weaponising star worship to bring people to the twin worlds of politics and cinema by blurring the divide. Yes, lack of proper planning and inadequate crowd control were reasons. But, so was a mindset that seeks to foster herd mentality. Investigations may lead to better event management, so that more lives are not lost to such demonstrations of star power. But will those lead to introspection? Will people ever opt for safer and more personal ways of showcasing their love for their larger-than-life heroes?

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