Pongal Box Office Battle: Vijay's Farewell Film Clashes with Stalin Kin's Political Debut

• Two major Tamil films, Thalapathy Vijay's "Jana Nayagan" and Sivakarthikeyan's "Parasakthi," are set for a Pongal clash on Jan 9 and 10, 2026.
• "Jana Nayagan" is promoted as Vijay's final film before his full-time political entry with Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, with its trailer hinting at his leadership role.
• "Parasakthi," produced by Aakash Baskaran (DMK kin) and distributed by Inban Udhay (Udhayanidhi Stalin's son), is based on the 1965 Anti-Hindi Imposition agitations.
• The film clash is seen as a political rehearsal, merging cinema and politics, especially with "Parasakthi"'s advanced release date.
• Off-screen tensions include poster tearing in Madurai and disruption of an audio launch in Chennai, highlighting the intense rivalry.

Why It Matters: Pongal sees a unique cinema-politics clash in Tamil Nadu as Vijay's last film battles a DMK-backed political drama.