'When you don't care about the lives of the people who make you, who you are, then you don't deserve their support.'
The loss of lives at the rally in Karur on Saturday, September 27, 2025, to promote Tamil movie superstar Vijay's political aspirations accentuates the issue of stars causing losses of lives with their disregard for public safety.
Vijay was reportedly supposed to arrive at 12 noon for the rally. He reportedly arrived at 7.40 pm. The crowds multiplied due to the actor-politician's delayed arrival.
The wounds of the death at Allu Arjun's fan-meet event at a theatre in Hyderabad during the release of Pushpa 2 have not healed.
Last month Kareena Kapoor Khan arrived late for a fan-packed event in Birmingham, UK. While anxious fans waited she left in a few minutes, leaving fans bitterly disappointed with acrimonious comments flooding social media. A girl reportedly fainted in the melee.
A close friend of Kareena absolved her of blame. "How is Bebo (Kareena) to blame if fans wait for her? Did she ask them to wait?" this friend asked.
Vijay says he is 'shattered' by the tragedy.
Says Tamil star Vishal Krishna, "Proper permission police protection and barricading should be done. People will definitely throng to see an actor more than a politician, especially children. When have we seen children and women throng political rallies except when a star is involved?"
"It is important for the organisers of the events to have proper security in place," adds filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. "Hysteria might suit the stardom of a person, might add to star persona, but when lives are lost, who is responsible for it?"
"The law and order machinery? The star? The organisers? I don't think we will ever find the answer to that question."
"There is a lot of anger in Tamil Nadu at what happened at the rally," says a young actor-colleague of Vijay. "No one is going to tell you this. But the fact is this experience is going to dent Vijay's political ambitions as it rightly should."
"When you don't care about the lives of the people who make you, who you are, then you don't deserve their support," asserts this actor.
The coming days are not going to be easy for the star-politician.
"What happened in Karur with Vijay is a tragic reminder that when star power blends with political aspirations, the stakes and the risks grow exponentially," says filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
"Passion cannot be silenced, but it must be guided. Careful planning, crowd management, and responsibility are not just protocols, they are acts of respect for the love, trust and hope fans place in those they admire," Bhatt adds.
"Only by honouring that devotion with foresight and care can admiration uplift, rather than destroy."
"I've seen fan hysteria up close," Bhatt recalls.
"During the promotion of our films, it was nearly impossible to get Malika Sherawat out of a theatre once the crowd went berserk. It felt as if the world was ending. I remember the fear, the energy, the way admiration could suddenly feel dangerous."
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