As per most Exit Polls, the BJP is on an unprecedented ascension in Tamil Nadu in terms of vote-share. It is successfully on its way to replace AIADMK as the principal Opposition. K Annamalai is emerging as the strongest BJP leader in the southern part of India. The 2026 Assembly elections are now going to be exciting.
If the BJP secures more vote-share than the AIADMK on June 4, the inevitable political earthquake is going to force Kollywood to change its political tunes in the coming years. As long as the DMK and the AIADMK remained unchallenged forces in the State, Tamil film writers and directors castigated the Hindutva ideology subtly in their films and overtly outside films in the name of Dravidian exceptionalism and secularism.
This will undoubtedly change. Filmmakers and actors are not fearless idealists in our society. They are pro-regime. If the regime favours anti-Hindutva propaganda, they do it happily. That is what Bollywood did in the UPA era. With the BJP coming to power at the Centre, anti-Hindutvaism in Hindi cinema took a backseat. Even Hindi OTT shows are scared of doing anti-BJP propaganda these days.
Something similar is going to happen in TN. As recently as in February, Superstar Rajinikanth's daughter claimed that her father was not a Sanghi although it has always been clear that he has always been pro-BJP despite 'Kabali' and 'Kaala'. Such posturings won't be needed anymore if the BJP becomes the second largest political force in TN. Gradually, we can expect actors like Rajini and Dhanush to openly propagate Hindutva ideology through their films.
