Is Tamil Nadu ready for Kamal Haasan's entry into politics?

The political landscape of Tamil Nadu, which always seems too eager to welcome actors who decide to switch over to politics, is ready to witness the transformation of another actor into politician. Kamal Haasan, who, for quite some time now, has been raking up issues pertinent to state and is an outspoken critic of both the state and Union governments, is all set to being his political innings on February 21.

The actor is full of confidence that he will make it big in Tamil Nadu politics. "You will know when I make it a success," he had said in one of his recent media addresses.

He seemed to know the importance of making the right noise at the right time as Haasan, who ruled out a tie-up with Rajinikanth, called on the latter and enunciated that they both are friends although their political inclinations are different. A rationalist, Haasan wouldn't want to be part of the "spiritual" politics of Rajinikanth.

Rajinikanth too cordially scotched speculations of the two joining hands when he said his style has always been different from that of Haasan's. Rajnikanth added that Haasan had a different style in films, too. The remarks came a few days after Haasan, during an interaction session at Harvard University, said he hopes that Rajinikanth is not inclined to extending support to the BJP.

The ruling AIADMK has clarified that it in no way feels threatened by the entry of the actor into politics. Senior AIADMK leader and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said, "Whether the actor launched a party or if he is going to forge a coalition with others (parties), it will not have any impact on the AIADMK," reports PTI.

The DMK has been very refrained in its reaction to the actor's entry into political foray, with party working president M.K. Stalin saying that anyone can enter politics.

The BJP too showed that it is not unnerved by the entry of Haasan into political space. BJP's Tamil Nadu unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "My greetings to him. Let him engage in politics, handle people's problems.. only after seeing how intensely he is involving himself in politics, will we be able to comment,” according to PTI.

While Haasan has been vociferous in his criticism against the state government and has been touted as a voice of dissent, he may not exactly have the fan base enjoyed by Rajinikanth. While the former—with his ability to slink into any role, whether it is man, woman, a dwarf, a foreigner and what not—is considered an actor par excellence, he doesn't enjoy the mass following that Thalaivar has, making it tough for "Ulaga Nayagan" to be appealing to people of every walk, class and belief.

There's also no guarantee that the success on silver screen will be translated into votes. The political entry of M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa—both actors—were met with grand success, but Tamil Nadu has also been unkind to a few others who switched over from silver screen to politics. Vijayakanth is a case in point.

Haasan may be a versatile actor, but it is to be seen if he could translate his effervescence on screen to street to garner votes.