At this time last year there was extensive speculation about the succession in Tamil Nadu after the death of chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in December 2016. The cupboard seemed bare, apart from the DMK under Stalin and the fumbling nonentities of the ruling party then led by O. Panneer Selvam. The picture is radically different today, with two Tamil cinema superstars and a “Prince of Smiles” throwing their hats in the ring. T. T. V. Dhinakaran, nephew of jailed Jayalalithaa aide V. K.