Newsmaker | The many roles of Udhayanidhi Stalin: Film baron, reluctant politician to Tamil Nadu’s Dy CM-in-waiting

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Udhayanidhi was fielded from one of the DMK’s safest seats, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni in Chennai. With his win virtually certain, Udhayanidhi proceeded to campaign across the state, brandishing at rallies a brick to underline how the previous AIADMK-BJP government had failed to complete work on the promised AIIMS-Madurai.

Several months after the DMK came to power and his father M K Stalin became the CM, Udhayanidhi was inducted as a minister, with the portfolios of Welfare and Sports Development.

Udhayanidhi’s profile has since been on the rise within the party, with DMK social media handles covering him faithfully, particularly his visits to his constituency. In preparation of this widening role in the government, he has curtailed his movie career, with last year’s well-received Maamannan talked about as perhaps his last as an actor, though he still runs one of South India’s most prominent film companies.

This rise and rise has not been without its share of detractors, especially in a party that swears by its ideological moorings. While late DMK veteran M Karunanidhi first opened party doors to the family, accommodating both his sons (Stalin, M Alagiri) and his daughter (Kanimozhi), he had ensured that they kept away from the spotlight as long as he was himself physically active in politics.

What has changed, however, is that power within the DMK is now entirely concentrated under Stalin, meaning that this latest promotion for Udhaynidhi is unlikely to face much dissent. Where he faced stiff challenge for a long time from elder brother Alagiri in the tussle for Karunanidhi’s legacy, Stalin is now the uncontested leader of the DMK, while Alagiri’s son Dayanidhi gets along very well with Udhayanidhi.

A relative told The Indian Express earlier, around the time that Udhayanidhi was made a minister, that he was anyway hardly a “novice”. “He is an elected MLA who has been in the game since a long time. He is not a nominated member like some others,” the relative said. Others close to the family point out how Udhayanidhi held out being made a minister for months after Stalin became CM.

Now though he is said to have pushed to be made Deputy CM before Stalin takes a break, ending the general belief once that he was not politically ambitious, and that mother Durga had pushed his case.

The 46-year-old is married to Kiruthiga, who has interests in fashion, publication and film and documentary production.

There is a whiff of controversy about these parallel interests of Udhayanidhi and family, with the 2006-11 DMK regime facing accusations of trying to monopolise the film industry, with control over production, distribution, exhibition and sale of film rights. Little has changed since, with Udhayanidhi’s Red Giant Movies considered the last word in the Tamil Nadu film industry now.

Udhayanidhi is also shadowed by allegations around his powerful brother-in-law Sabareesan, a key behind-the-scenes figure in the DMK government.