CHENNAI: From Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar to senior minister K A Sengottaiyan and several of his younger cabinet colleagues, governance briefly took a back seat on Thursday as the ruling establishment queued up for the first day, first show (FDFS) of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s much-awaited film Jananayagan.Even as anti-NEET protests intensified across the state and opposition parties stepped up attacks over Karnataka’s Mekedatu project, the non-release of Cauvery water and the plight of delta farmers, ministers across Tamil Nadu appeared to be in full celebration mode.The celebrations had begun a day earlier. Vijay watched the premiere of what has been billed as his final film on Wednesday night along with Chief Secretary Sai Kumar and several senior bureaucrats. By Thursday morning, ministers had fanned out across the state to watch the film with party workers and fans.Sengottaiyan led a rally to a theatre in his native Erode district, while WRD minister and Leader of the House N Anand, a long-time confidant of Vijay, watched the film with Health Minister K G Arunraj at a theatre in Chennai.“Tamils across the world are eagerly waiting for the movie,” Speaker Prabhakar said before entering one of the Chennai theatres screening the film.Videos of Natural Resources Minister T K Prabhu pasting Jananayagan stickers on house doors and auto-rickshaws surfaced on social media, drawing criticism. In Pudukkottai, Labour Welfare Minister J Mohamed Farvas was seen in tears while watching the film.Facing criticism that ministers had turned the film’s release into a political celebration while key public issues remained unresolved, Arunraj defended their decision to attend the FDFS.“There are several issues. They cannot all be solved in a single day,” he said, adding that Jananayagan was “emotionally connected” to them and had nothing to do with the ongoing anti-NEET protests. Arunraj has also acted in the film.The enthusiasm was not limited to a few ministers.“I will be going to my district to make arrangements for the FDFS and watch our CM’s movie,” another senior minister said, underscoring that, for much of the ruling establishment, Thursday’s headline event was the Chief Minister’s first day, first show even as protests over NEET, the Cauvery water dispute and farmers’ distress continued.
