This book explores how public and cinematic personas merge in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu in India. Using the films of MGR and Rajinikanth, it reveals the intricate warp and the weft of political and cultural life of the Tamils, while examining Dravida identity, caste and language.

Contents: Introduction: Popular as political. Part 1: Politics of narrative. 1. Assemblage structure. 2. Image-building devices. Part 2: Politics of body. 3. Imaging male body. 4. On being a man’s woman. 5. Psycho-cultural mapping of body. 6. Double bodied migrantcy. 7. Wealth of poverty. 8. Dispensation of justice. Part 3: Politics of imaging politics. 9. Image and imagining. 10. Politically-loaded Octa-motifs. 11. Imaging by tactexting. 12. MGR: Politics as co-text. 13. RK: Politics as context. 14. Cinelating politicking. 15. Politics beyond politics: trans-image voting. Select bibliography.