Written by Karthikeyan DamodaranThe tragic death of 41 people, including women and children, who had gathered to get a glimpse of matinee-idol-turned politician Vijay, has revived the debate about hero-worship of film stars and politicians. Inscriptions and sources indicate that the concept of a “hero” has been part of Tamil culture since early times. This prevented the state from forming a public culture independent of the film culture. In every election, a galaxy of film stars is found campaigning for the Dravidian political parties, a feature now being emulated by other national and regional parties. One has to remember the words of B R Ambedkar, who wrote that hero worship is bound to happen in a democracy.