“I speak entirely extempore. Not a word is rehearsed. That’s the political animal within me,” were Kamal Haasan’s words when his path-breaking Tamil Bigg Boss on Vijay TV made wrangles during its first season. What followed was the popularity of the show, and the influence of its celebrity host proliferated day by day and it became one of the most watched television shows of 2017. Undoubtedly, Kamal Haasan’s witty, sarcastic and stringent speeches and remarks made Bigg Boss season 1 a big success.

Kamal Haasan’s take on social issues and politicians also raised the question - has an entertainment reality show turned into a political stage for him? The actor used the platform ferociously to comment on the state and the society. It all began with his foray into active microblogging in 2016. Kamal Haasan was reinventing his persona after a sliding phase in his acting career and Twitter and Bigg Boss were timely occurrences.

Being a man known as a wordsmith, Kamal Haasan knew how to strike a chord with the Tamil people. He unleashed a deluge of cryptic, sarcastic and witty tweets criticising the system. Kamal Haasan’s relentless support for the Jallikattu and Neduvasal protests also earned him considerable mileage in the new media race.

Unfortunately, the responses that came from the rattled politicians were acrid, which also helped Kamal Haasan prove his point - the system is on the verge of decay. No wonder, his Twitter followers have crossed 1.5 million within a short span of time. It was time to take the next big leap and Bigg Boss happened. His knifelike language and emotionally packed speeches earned the show record TRPs. Moreover, the show reinvented Kamal Haasan’s stature in the public domain of Tamil Nadu.

The season 1 was rich with dramatic and unpredictable events. When the Julie-Oviya row buzzed on the social media platforms, Kamal questioned the audience about their anger towards Julie. “If you are livid with this young girl for a lie, why didn’t you shower the same anger on politicians?” he asked. “It is not my job, but my duty,” he said with burning eyes after the suicide of a student, who fought against NEET.

His mocking and indirect comments on issues like the AIADMK merger also cracked laughter both on the social media and in the drawing rooms. The state was witnessing the shaping up of a deadly combo of a wannabe firebrand politician and a genius performer in one person hosting a popular television show, which deals with highly sensitive human behavior, and questions anything and everything the common man feels exhausting, gross, unjust, and absurd.

No wonder, he managed to reach out to hundreds and thousands of small towns and villages in Tamil Nadu, a feat that can match with his outstanding achievements as an actor. Interestingly, Kamal Haasan managed to lure back the viewers in the age group of 18 to 35, a crucial move which will work in his favor during the elections. In the annals Television history, the only comparable parallel to this Kamal Haasan phenomenon is how Kaun Banega Crorepati revived Amitabh Bachchan’s career from the ruins.

When Star Vijay invites him for another round, Kamal Haasan has affirmed with what he means by being the Bigg Boss. The recently launched teaser, which was released along with a line saying,  “Meendum enn makkalai sandhikka Thevarugiraenm,” has been a key into that enigma.  When you tap the play button, you can see an eye seeing everything, a snap of a finger and a thinking head behind the hand and eye. In a typical Kamal Haasan way, Bigg Boss 2 teaser clearly states, Thalaivan Irukiran.