“I shall do honest work for people from all walks of life,” said the hero, hands stretched, before raising one and curling it into a fist as he went, “I solemnly affirm, swearing upon God.” Before you mistake it for a scene from a Tamil film — the occasion was indeed cinematic, in a sense — this was a moment from when Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam chief C Joseph Vijay took the oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10 at a packed Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Everything about the superstar-turned-politician’s journey has been something out of a blockbuster. Still, social media has particularly taken note of how Vijay channelled the inner performer in him during the oath-taking ceremony. If that weren’t enough, everything that followed the oath would have made fans reminisce about his cinema persona, especially for those grappling with the idea that they would no longer get to see him on the big screen.

Vijay’s dramatic speech reminded everyone of the several speeches he delivered over the years at the audio launch ceremonies of his films, many of which were held at the same venue. “En ninjil kudi irukkum ungal anaivarukkum en vanakkam,” the star began, as he had done multiple times, prompting a roar of applause from the crowd.

Vijay’s speeches have always been well-structured. Charismatic, yes. But also as pensive as these events allow them to be. Though they appear impromptu, they all follow suit, to motivate his fans and promote the film, while subsequently growing his audience base.

These speeches have also offered a keen perspective into a star who has otherwise been reluctant. In some cases, he has offered tidbits about his own personality: “I have an emotional side, which even my close ones say I should open up and show the world. But I don’t do that. Perhaps it’s a manufacturing defect,” he said before the release of Beast. He often uses these spaces to discuss how he views life, victory, and his career in cinema. And there have been countless times when he has addressed the criticisms he has faced in his journey, something he said, during Puli, he uses as “petrol that fuels him but not as an ember that would destroy him”.

Even how Vijay praises his colleagues in his speeches, would show a flair for storytelling. “I used to watch wildlife shows on the Discovery Channel, and in those shows, when a tiger is on the hunt, it would single out a prey from its herd and chase after it with all it has got.” Wonder why he was narrating this tale before the release of Theri? “If that prey is ‘victory,’ producer Kalaipuli S Thanu is the relentless tiger in pursuit.”

Taking to the stage during the promotions of Mersal, Vijay advised his fans to ‘ignore negativity,’ an advice that has since become a staple in his speeches and has been widely considered as the star’s plea to stop online fan wars. “ Wouldn’t life become boring if everyone liked us? Only if some people don’t like us would life feel entertaining and exciting.” His loudest plea against fan wars came during the audio launch of Bigil, in which he narrated a story about former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MG Ramachandran, an idol who Vijay often references in his speeches. “I once heard a story about MGR. He was campaigning for elections, during which a minister from his party, in an attempt to praise MGR, kept putting down Kalaignar (former Chief Minister MK Karunanidhi). MGR got so upset and said, ‘I have a lot of political differences with Kalaignar, but he’s a huge political leader. You shouldn’t be talking about him like this,’ before dropping and leaving the minister stranded in the road. So he knew how to respect even his rivals.” And perhaps that’s the respect Vijay is showing his political rivals; on May 11, a day after he became the Chief Minister, Vijay greeted four of his political opponents, including former Chief Minister MK Stalin, the son of the late Karunanidhi — a gesture that has been accepted as a welcome change even by his opponents.

It may even be the case that he doesn’t see them as his competitors. While he has mentioned his rival in cinema, Ajith Kumar, at a couple of instances, he famously said who he thinks is his competitor in the audio launch of Varisu: “In the 1990s, a hero came up as my competition. Afraid of him and his success, I too started to run and develop myself. Wherever I went, he too followed. And he was the reason for my rise to this level. Trying to surpass him, I kept on working hard and competing with him. You all should have such a competitor as well. That competitor entered the film industry in 1992. His name was Joseph Vijay.”

Vijay has always been a star who has enjoyed tremendous success amongst the youth of Tamil Nadu, and the orator in him has always pandered to the youth in a language they find appealing. Be it “Usupethravan kitta ummunum, kadupethravan kitta gammunum irundha, vaazhkai jammunu irukkumaam,” which would lose out its essence in a translation, or “Kill them with your success. Bury them with your smile,” these portions in his speeches also have some punchlines from the star that have become trends over the years. “I gave an interview some 10 years ago that was misreported by the media. So I decided to stop giving interviews. Instead, I started collating my thoughts and speaking them out loud at these audio launches,” Vijay opened up once.

All that said, however, the biggest highlight of Vijay’s speeches is the morality tales he tells his audiences as ‘Kutty Stories,’ which aim to drive home a point creatively. Be it a story about Chinese revolutionary Mao to speak about humility (during Theri), or one about a flower shop worker who finds a job at a firecracker factory (Bigil), or a brother who explains what affection means to his sister (Varisu), these stories turned out to captivate his audiences so much that Anirudh Ravichander went on to even make a song about it in Master. And one thing he has always repeated while giving advice: Take it if they are useful, leave it if they aren’t. Something that even became a lyric in the ‘Kutty Story’ song: ‘Let me tell a kutty story, pay attention, listen to me. If you want, take it, or else, leave it, no need for tension, baby….Life is very short, my friend. Always be happy.”

The Kutty Stories of speeches for Bigil and Sarkar both hinted, not so subtly, at the eventual political plunge he took. The one from Sarkar spoke against corruption and how the ones in power should take up responsibility for a corruption-free society.

Vijay has always praised his fans and the activities of his social welfare organisation, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, in these speeches, validating and empowering them. Before the release of Varisu, he praised his fans for participating in his blood donation initiative, stating, “Blood is that one that doesn’t see caste, creed, class, or religion.” While appreciating them for their social services at the Leo success meet, the star drew inspiration from MGR to chalk out his vision for the future. “Many, many years ago, when AVM Saravanan of AVM Productions offered an old lady a Rs 100 note, she blessed him, saying, ‘You will long live, MGR.’ So, at that point, people assumed that anyone who did them good was MGR. That’s the name he had. I am not comparing myself. But I have a small wish. In the future, whenever someone does a good deed, I want it to have been done by our boys.”

From mentioning the importance of prison reforms before Puli to mentioning the death of Chennai-based engineer Subhasri due to an illegal hoarding that fell on her, Vijay has often used these platforms to also voice out social issues. During a special pre-release interview he gave to Beast director Nelson — when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented all possibilities of a public event— Vijay called to attention the death of an 11-year-old boy in a shooting incident at a shooting range in Pasumalaipatti. “A similar incident happened in Perambalur. These ranges used to be situated outside the town, but due to the extension of these towns, they are now in or near residential areas. So we should move these ranges, or use computer-simulated training practice,” suggested Vijay. In 2015, when serial piracy of the latest releases perilled Tamil cinema, Vijay took a stand against piracy in his speech ahead of Puli.

Just earlier today, the Chief Minister announced the closure of 717 TASMAC wine shops located within 500 metres of educational institutions and places of worship across the State within two weeks. Hear what he said in his speech during the Leo success meet. Using it as an example to cite that audiences should take the best out of his films and ignore the rest, he said, “There are wine shops even en route to schools and colleges, but that doesn’t mean students drink before they go to their classes. They know what to take and what to ignore,” which showed his disdain with the location of some of the TASMAC shops.

He strongly signalled his political entrance before the release of Sarkar, professing how it’s natural for a leader to emerge out of a crisis, “like how it rains when there’s humidity,” and that the Government under that leader would be the real sarkar. In 2024, when asked about what 2026 meant to him, the star replied, “Cup’u mukkiyam Bigil’u,” a dialogue from his film Bigil, to suggest his entry into electoral politics.

It’s 2026 now, and the cup has reached Bigil.