Multiple reports describe a controversy in Tamil Nadu after Vijay makes a “jaw gesture,” which opposition parties and allied groups say is a reference to DMK leader M K Stalin’s alleged 1976 arrest and the injuries he suffered. The gesture is widely discussed as invoking an older incident from the Emergency period, when Stalin was reportedly detained and later associated with a jaw injury.
NDTV reports that DMK leaders respond by framing the injury as a “brave scar,” linking it to Stalin’s resistance to repression during a time when democratic rights were under pressure. Other sources within the same set of reporting emphasize that DMK’s political allies also interpret the gesture as pointing to that historical episode, using it to argue that the reference carries political meaning. The dispute centers on whether the gesture is intentional and, if so, what specific historical event it alludes to, with different sides offering contrasting interpretations.
