The last first-day-first-show: How Vijay fans watched Jana Nayagan as end of an era

For 33 years, a Vijay release wasn't just another Friday at the movies. It was a festival. Every Pongal and Diwali meant packed theatres, giant cut-outs bathed in milk, drums outside cinema halls and fans treating first-day-first-shows like family celebrations. But on July 23, the celebrations carried an unfamiliar emotion.Jana Nayagan, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's final film as an actor, wasn't just another blockbuster opening. It was a goodbye.Long before the first show began, fans had already decided they weren't walking into theatres to judge a film. They were walking in to bid farewell to the star who had defined their childhoods, college years and adulthood.India Today Digital spoke to Vijay fans and members of his fan clubs across Tamil Nadu and overseas to understand what watching Jana Nayagan felt like, why this release was unlike any other, and how they are making peace with never seeing their favourite hero on the big screen again. For Ram Kumar, TVK's State Social Media Co-ordinator, the emotions inside the theatre began years before Jana Nayagan was even announced."I have been a Vijay fan from the day I became aware of cinema. But my fandom reached its peak after Ghilli (2004). I felt Vijay was a hero who belonged to us. Since then, I have travelled with him as a die-hard fan through all the positives and negatives," he said. Like many fans, Ram doesn't separate Vijay the actor from Vijay the politician. To him, Jana Nayagan isn't simply the last film of a superstar, it is the final chapter of one journey before another begins. The same sentiment echoes in Auditor Ibrahim's memories. "I became a fan after Ghilli. I watched his films when I was six years old, and now I'm in my thirties. Vijay has been a part of my everyday life," he said.His fandom eventually became a family affair: "My mother and father are huge Vijay fans too. Most of our family conversations revolve around him." That emotional investment explains why Jana Nayagan felt less like entertainment and more like a personal milestone.For software engineer Karthik, Vijay's films changed the course of his life in an entirely different way. What began with Thulladha Manamum Thullum (1999) eventually led him to become an entrepreneur distributing Tamil films in Mexico."I became a fan during Thulladha Manamum Thullum. I live in Mexico, and when Bairavaa released in 2017, I was planning to travel to the US because it wasn't releasing in my city," he said.Instead, he acquired the rights to release the film in Mexico himself. Today, he regularly brings Tamil films to audiences there, and this week, he has organised a special release for Jana Nayagan, ensuring Vijay's final film reaches fans thousands of kilometres away from home.For many, though, the strongest memories have little to do with the films themselves and everything to do with the atmosphere surrounding them. Ram still remembers standing outside Kanchipuram's Babu Cinemas before dawn for Vettaikaaran."I grew up in Kanchipuram, and my favourite memory is Vettaikaaran (2009). Sun TV's promos created unbelievable hype. At the time, Singam (2010) had done record-breaking business. When Vettaikaaran released, we queued outside Babu Cinemas at 5 am and screamed until we lost our voices," he recalled. Ram Kumar shared the screengrab of Vijay signing off for one last time as an actor in the end credits of Jana Nayagan. (Photo credit: X/@ramk8060) The excitement inside theatres eventually spilled into life outside them. "We weren't the ones on the field. But through social media, we took part in welfare activities, organised financial aid, food distribution and blood donation camps. During the elections, we went all out. And Thalapathy recognised our work by calling us 'Virtual Warriors'. That identity meant everything to us," he explained.He said the fan community has continued feeding nearly 300 people every day through public donations."For the past four years, nearly 300 people have been fed every single day entirely through public funding. Vijay sir even told us to approach him if we needed financial support. But we never had to because his followers always stepped up," he mentioned.Ibrahim's memories are no less intense: "During my semester practicals, Theri (2016) was released. I bunked my practical exam and went straight to the theatre. I got an arrear and cleared the subject the following year. But I had absolutely no guilt."He has never missed a first-day-first-show at Trichy's Kaveri Theatre. His family's admiration for Vijay even shaped personal relationships. "My family loves Vijay so much that we've cut ties with people who speak ill of him. Recently, my uncle had a different opinion about Vijay, and we stopped talking to him," he said.For Jana Nayagan, however, even that lifelong devotion wasn't enough. "I'm travelling nearly 200 kilometres from Chennai to Nagari in Andhra Pradesh to watch the first show. My wife is pregnant, and I will be taking her for another show on the first day. For the next one week, I'll watch Jana Nayagan every day in theatres," he said. That willingness to travel hundreds of kilometres or release the film in another country – speaks to what Jana Nayagan represented. This wasn't simply another first-day-first show. It was the last.For Ram, Vijay's decision to leave cinema never came as a surprise. "Whoever grew up in the 1990s definitely grew up watching Vijay. Even those who didn't initially like him eventually found something that drew them towards his films. He catered to everyone – from six-year-olds to sixty-year-olds. Every Pongal and Diwali felt incomplete without a Vijay release," he explained.He believes politics was always the destination: "People say Vijay is new to politics, but he has been preparing for this for years through the Vijay Makkal Mandram. His films and welfare activities always reflected his ambitions."Yet acceptance doesn't erase emotion."After his election victory, it became even harder to digest that we wouldn't see him in theatres any more. But today, we feel proud to see him occupying the Chief Minister's chair. Earlier, we met him once a year through his films. Now, we see him every day as CM. We accepted his decision wholeheartedly, and watching him work for the people who supported him makes my eyes well up," Ram said.Ibrahim sees the transition in similar terms: "I never knew why I fell in love with Vijay and his persona. I just knew I liked him. I don't think we need reasons to like some people.""I don't feel bad because he's gone beyond cinema. He's aiming for something much bigger. I've been saying for years that Vijay would become Chief Minister, but people laughed at me. Now it's my turn to answer those who ridiculed me," he added.For Vijay's fans, Jana Nayagan wasn't remembered for its box office numbers or its reviews. It was remembered for something much simpler: it was the last time theatre lights dimmed for a new Vijay film.The milk abhishekams may stop. The giant cut-outs may disappear. First-day-first-shows may no longer feel like festivals. But for the generation that grew up measuring time through Vijay releases, Jana Nayagan wasn't just the end of a film. It was the end of a ritual, and the beginning of a different relationship with the man they once called Thalapathy.- EndsPublished On: Jul 25, 2026 10:00 IST