MS Dhoni (MSD) recently trademarked the “Captain Cool” sobriquet, a term that equates closely with his unflappable style of captaincy under pressure. This itself is not unique given that other sports people have often trademarked phrases for commercial use. “One 8” by Virat Kohli, “CR7” by Cristiano Ronaldo and “Sach Master Blaster” by Sachin Tendulkar are the more popular ones.
What got me thinking a few years ago was his other nickname, the one bequeathed to him by his fans in Tamil Nadu and one that needs no copyrighting … we are talking about “Thala”, meaning leader. I was leading the regional language channels at Star Sports, and we were already getting spectacular traction with the unilateral camera focused on the CSK players, especially on Thala himself. But some questions kept haunting us …What made this man attain God-like reverence from a state that he did not even belong to? What had he done to attain cult-like status reserved for stalwarts from other fields like MGR and Rajni?
The first clue came when we met the creative agency and they pitched a film where fans would use Manjal abhishekham (turmeric water to annoint the lord). I was taken aback by the idea and we set out to meet up with some key opinion-leaders in the market to decipher this.
One key question in our mind was: Why is MSD God in the state even though he is an outsider? Why is it that in Bengal, Dada is elder brother but not God? KKR relieved him of his captaincy but the fans did not hit the road in protest? Sachin is the God of cricket but he is not God in his state?
We dug deeper and were startled with the outcomes of the research. Yes, CSK did become the most consistent team under MSD’s leadership, but the answer was lodged in some social and political truths. Even MGR and Rajni were not from the state but what they did successfully was make the Tamil people proud. Never did they break character – one as the protector of the poor and the other as the champion of the underdog – and this is where MSD hit gold. His leadership is seen as loyalty to the cause!
We were so intrigued that we commissioned further research around the cultural anthropology of this hypothesis. The founders of the DMK movement in the state, CN Annadurai and Periyar EV Ramasamy, opposed religion and idol worship, urging people to reject the idea of divine authority as a tool of caste oppression. And that is why human heroes became larger than life in the state. After all, humanity needs to look up to larger-than-life heroes.
The God-like reverence that MG Ramachandran (MGR), Rajinikanth, and MSD enjoy in Tamil Nadu is rooted in a mix of cultural psychology, symbolism, and timing, and while they come from different fields (politics, cinema, sport), the underlying reasons are remarkably similar.
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MGR turned cinematic heroism into governance, often personally funding welfare schemes. Rajinikanth, a bus conductor who rose to become Asia’s biggest superstar, symbolising hope for ordinary people. His humility off-screen adds to his mystique. MSD, the calm, small-town leader – the boy from Ranchi who conquered world cricket with composure and tactical brilliance. In Tamil Nadu, his CSK leadership is seen as loyalty to the local cause, even though he’s from outside the state.
All three rarely broke character, whether it was MGR’s benevolent statesman image, Rajini’s humility and simplicity, or MSD’s ice-cool persona. All three were in perfect alignment with Tamil Nadu’s cultural values – justice, morality, anti-elitism, loyalty, grace under pressure and humility. All three created a myth around themselves… MGR through carefully curated appearances outside films, Rajni avoiding over-exposure and MSD rarely giving interviews and not carrying a mobile phone.
MGR rose to fame when cinema and politics were the twin pillars of Tamil Nadu public life. Rajni became the face of Tamil cinema during a time of rapid economic and social change, offering stability in identity. MSD became CSK captain just as the IPL was shaping city-based sports loyalty – he was Chennai’s cricket identity from the start.
In summary then, MSD – like MGR and Rajni – is revered not because of statistics or box office numbers alone, but because he embodies values, emotions, and identities that Tamil Nadu holds sacred, and he has protected that image for nearly two decades.
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