Jana Nayagan fever leaves Secretariat deserted

CHENNAI: The Secretariat wore an unusually deserted look on Thursday, a regular working day, as Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay skipped office and several ministers, MLAs and party functionaries stayed away to watch Jana Nayagan, the actor-turned-politician's final film, which released across the State amid massive fanfare.

Since assuming office, the Chief Minister has made it a practice to attend the Secretariat from Monday to Friday and hold review meetings with officials. However, his absence, along with that of several ministers, resulted in limited official activity at the Secretariat. The usual rush of visitors, officials and party workers was missing, while TVK cadres, who generally gather outside the Secretariat to greet the Chief Minister before and after office hours, were absent, making the sprawling government complex resemble a weekend or public holiday.

Celebrations erupted across the State as Jana Nayagan, marking Vijay's farewell to cinema before taking up full-time politics, hit the screens. Fans organised special screenings, while party functionaries and elected representatives joined first-day celebrations in several districts.

In Coimbatore, ministers V Sampath Kumar and K Vignesh joined fans to celebrate the film's release. Backward Classes Welfare Minister V Sampath Kumar, who watched the film at a theatre in Gandhipuram, said his foremost identity was that of a Vijay fan. "My first identity is that I am a fan of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. I have now been entrusted with a responsibility and shall discharge it well," he told reporters before the screening. He said celebrations were welcome as long as they did not inconvenience the public. After watching the film, Sampath Kumar became emotional and was seen in tears.

Minister for Prohibition and Excise K Vignesh watched the film at a theatre in Podanur, where armed police personnel were deployed as part of the security arrangements. Traffic and Armed Reserve police were also deployed at key locations to regulate traffic and maintain law and order. While most theatres began screening the film at 9 am, Broadway Theatre on Avinashi Road held its first show at 7.05 am. At Karumathampatti, fans cooked pongal as part of the celebrations.

In Madurai, drumbeats, DJ music, fireworks and milk abhishekam marked the release as fans thronged more than 25 theatres across the district. Fans gathered from the early hours, cut cakes, danced to Vijay's songs and burst crackers outside cinema halls.

Madurai West MLA SR Thangapandi inaugurated the celebrations at Thangareegal Theatre near the Periyar bus stand by cutting a cake and distributing it among fans. Similar scenes were witnessed at Jayam Theatre in Palanganatham, Gopuram Cinemas, Cinepriya and Ganesh Theatre. The festivities had begun on Wednesday night, with Madurai South MLA Gopisengam participating in a fireworks event around a cut-out of Vijay, while fans performed milk abhishekam to the actor's cut-out at Cinepriya Theatre before the screening.