'Confident ah irunga, nallathey nadakkum.' (Be confident, only good things will happen.)

Rally after rally, C. Joseph Vijay told voters the same thing. On 10 May 2026, the superstar was sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

How did a party dismissed as little more than fan clubs and an army of online warriors redraw the state's political map? What did the establishment miss? Why did Vijay succeed where most film stars have failed? And is this the end of the road for Dravidian politics?

In Thalapathy, NDTV journalists Vasudha Venugopal and Tarini Kumar tell the inside story of the campaign that rewrote the rules of Indian electioneering.

Inside:

• How the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam grew out of the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam fan network

• The strategy, the people and the turning points behind the campaign

• What the result means for the DMK, the AIADMK and the future of Dravidian politics

• The Gen Z and first-time voter factor

• Reporting from the ground and from within the party

For readers who follow Indian politics, Tamil cinema and elections, and for anyone who wants to understand how a screen idol became a chief minister.