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“If They’re Fascism, You’re Payasam?”: Here’s How Vijay & And His Daddy Gagged Vijay TV’s Lollu Sabha For Trolling His Film Pokkiri

The Commune

In October 2024, actor-turned-politician Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, held a massive rally at V. Salai near Vikravandi in Vizhupuram district, Tamil Nadu. Addressing the huge crowd of his supporters, actor Vijay, in his speech, not only elaborated on his party’s ideologies but also fixed who his political enemies were. Although he didn’t name any party exclusively, his speech revealed that his primary political opponent was the DMK. He positioned both the BJP and the DMK as “fascists“.

He said, “There is a crowd here that for some time has been singing the same paeans. Anybody who comes into politics is given ‘one particular colour’. They keep fearmongering people and cheat them. But ‘these people’ (indirect reference to DMK) will put underground dealing with ‘them’ (indirect reference to BJP). During elections, they will give statements and give sounds. For them, it’s always ‘fascism’, ‘fascism’, ‘fascism’. Among the people who are united here, they fearmonger by splitting people as majority-minority and keep putting a full-time scene with it. I’m asking you – If ‘they’re fascism’, are you ‘payasam’? You’re no better than them. You call this anti-people government a ‘Dravida Model’ government and cheating people.“

After Dravidianist rag Vikatan’s website was allegedly blocked by the BJP government over its derogatory cartoon on PM Modi, the TVK leader said, “If the opinions expressed by the media are wrong or if it targets govt, then the issue should be sorted out through the courts and not by curtailing freedom of expression.“ Vijay also called it a ‘fascist‘ approach. “Whether it was Union govt or state govt which adopts such fascist approach, TVK will always oppose it,” he said, as reported in Times of India.

For all of Vijay’s rhetoric about curtailing freedom of expression and his vocal opposition to fascism, it’s worth revisiting his own actions that contradict these claims. A prime example is his heavy-handed response to Vijay TV’s popular comedy show Lollu Sabha, which aired a satirical take on his then-blockbuster film, Pokkiri. Instead of embracing the humor or respecting the show’s creative freedom, Vijay along with his father SA Chandrasekhar, reportedly pressured the channel to pull the episode, showcasing a distinctly authoritarian approach.

Vijay TV was made to give a public apology statement for broadcasting the satire on Vijay’s film Pokkiri titled Bakery. The apology statement read, “Subject: We are sorry for the Lollu Sabha programme.

The Lollu Sabha shows are depictions of parodies of films. It is not our intention to attack any individual or to set up scenes to tarnish their name. We are very sorry to know that the scenes of the Pokkiri movie in last week’s “Lollu Sabha” program on Friday hurt you, your family, your fans, and the public whom you value more than your life. We would like to take this opportunity to point out that we hold you in high esteem and respect and will ensure that such incidents do not happen again. We look forward to your continued support and the support of your fans.”

Here are some video interview clippings of the members of the cast who acted in the satire. After the release of the satire, Vijay’s father SA Chandrasekhar threatened Vijay TV, called them over to his home and they let go of the matter only after the special function to praise Vijay.

One member, said, “We made a satire on Pokkiri and called it Bakery. Vijay’s father SAC called and threatened Vijay TV. RamBala stated he did not direct the programme and put the blame on his two assistants stating that they wanted to do something different and managed to escape the ire. Later, Vijay TV conducted a big programme when it was changing the branding to Star Tamil and decided to please Vijay by stating that they wished to retain the “Vijay” name to get on his good side.”

In another interview with the cast and crew of Lollu Sabha to BehindWoods, a team member said, “We made a satire on Thevar Magan film.” Pointing to the two other people sitting there, he said, “He portrayed Kamal Haasan and this one portrayed Shivaji Ganesan. In that episode, it became an issue. They made a ruckus and broke the sets and once again we had to issue an apology. Then we made a satire on Puratchi Ilayathalapathy’s film Pokkiri. We called it Bakery. I never thought it would become such a big problem. It was telecast on the channel and after that, we were sitting and discussing, I got a call from Vijay TV’s Mahendran asking “Where are you people” he scolded us for not being at the office when a problem was raging in the background. I was told that the actors were being hunted by him (Vijay) and his dad. We might get a call after this interview. After this, we even broadcast a scrolling message apologizing for the video on TV and we never repeated that episode. It is not available on YouTube – both this film and Thevar Magan.”

Vijay and his father were so petty that they made the actor who played him (Jeeva) in the satire. Vijay performs in a scene where he humiliates Lollu Sabha Jeeva in the film Kuruvi (2008). Vivek’s introduction of Jeeva carries an underlying reference to his past in Lollu Sabha. In the scene, Vijay takes on the role of bullying Jeeva, ultimately inciting the public to attack him by the end. Did Vijay do this to satiate his ego?

Humor and satire are essential to any free society, serving as tools for reflection, critique, and even celebration of cultural moments. When people like Vijay struggle to tolerate lighthearted jokes or parodies, it raises serious concerns about their ability to handle the inevitable criticism that comes with political life. The fact that Vijay and his father resorted to threatening small-time actors and influencing media outlets—despite holding no political or administrative power at the time—offers a troubling preview of how they might wield real authority.

If such intimidation was used over something as trivial as a Lollu Sabha comedy sketch, what does that say about their approach to dissent on a larger scale? Their inability to tolerate even mild humor, coupled with their willingness to silence critics, signals a dangerous mindset—one that aligns disturbingly with authoritarian tendencies. Vijay, who once threatened comedians over harmless jokes, now speaks about freedom of expression in politics. Given this history, what credibility does he have to champion such values? Maybe he must begin by apologising to the Lollu Sabha team for suppressing their freedom of expression.

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