Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu), March 19 A lively Iftar organized by TVK and busloads of supporters turned the quiet coastal town of Poonjeeri near Mahabalipuram on the evening of March 18 on its head.
It is clear that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), still recovering from the near-mythical chaos of its inaugural Iftar held at the YMCA grounds in Royapettah, right in the middle of Chennai, hoped that this unremarkable town in the middle of nowhere would absorb the frenzy of the fans-turned-supporters.
The inaugural event had turned into a logistical nightmare for the police.
Party supporters noted that the second iteration was significantly more organized than the Chennai debut, a change partly attributed to the choice of venue and the ample parking space.
Not wanting to take any chances, Aadhav Arjuna, general secretary of TVK's election campaign management, had also spent considerable time instructing those attending the Iftar on how they should behave: "Don't get up from your seats; show respect for the occasion; if you have a phone with you – you should leave it outside – don't take it out to take selfies or reels."
All of this worked to some extent. As long as Vijay prayed, the crowd prayed too. But as the actor was about to leave, a frenzy gripped the crowd and people started pushing each other to get closer to him.
Things were not that different in the separate enclosure for women and children. The women could barely contain themselves and all wanted to get a spot near the entrance of the enclosure.
Saira, a fan-turned-supporter from Villupuram, who attended both events, recalled that during the previous year's gathering, the enthusiasm to see "Thalapathy" was so intense that women tore down the barricades separating them from the men's section.
This year, organizers attempted to "manage" by promising women that Vijay would visit them after prayers, provided they remained orderly.
While this strategy maintained order for much of the evening, just like in the main hall, the arrangement collapsed toward the end of the event; once it became clear that the actor would not be entering the enclosure, women rushed towards the star.
Some realized that there was no way they were going to get through the crowd; men were already at the forefront trying to push their way closer to the star. So, they did the next best thing: they pulled out the phone that they had kept hidden until now and rushed to the giant screen relaying the event and started filming, zooming in tightly on the actor to make it look like they were shooting live.
The pressure of the swelling crowd was felt early on at the entrance, prompting TVK General Secretary Bussy Anand to announce that the event was restricted to the Muslim community in an eleventh-hour attempt to contain the jostling masses.
This announcement stood in contrast to the party's earlier outreach, as invitations had been widely distributed to the public regardless of religious affiliation.
Despite the tighter management, the evening ultimately demonstrated the persistent challenge the fledgling party faces in balancing its political outreach with the sheer scale of its leader's stardom.
This was perhaps best seen in the case of Yasmin Naina Mohammed, a lawyer from Neyveli, and state joint secretary of the party.
One of the organizers, Yasmin, was strict with the women initially, not even letting them get up from their places.
As people waited for the star to arrive, she regaled the gathered women with stories about how she has seen "Thalapathy" up close "more than 10 times", her tone so flippant that one would think if not for work, she wouldn't even take a selfie with the star.
And yet, when Vijay walked into the venue, she drifted towards the very edge of the enclosure that she had kept others from, craning her neck for a better view of him, as if she couldn't help herself.
A mother of two who had been pestering her just a while ago, who had been told in no uncertain terms that she should not leave her seat no matter what, edged her way next to her.
The two stood there for most of the evening, giggling like conspirators.