In 2009, in the wake of extensive criticism about the defacing of public and private walls mostly by political parties but also other groups and individuals, the Chennai city administration attempted to intervene in the elaborate visual encroachment on its streets and initiated campaigns to regulate the ‘pollution’ caused by unauthorized forms of pictorial displays within the city. From mid-2009 onwards, the city decided to enforce a ban on posters, murals, and hoardings on two of the main roads running through the city. Billboards were pulled down, walls cleaned of posters and whitewashed, covering up the remains of the once-ubiquitous murals. To beautify these roads, artists were commissioned to cover the walls with images of Tamil cultural heritage and natural scenery. Chennai's mayor, M. Subramanian, declared that ‘images of various cultural symbols would be painted on compound walls of government property on the two roads. […] This is intended to keep those who paste posters away and improve aesthetics. Posters are an eyesore’ (The Hindu, Chennai edition, 29 May 2009). Anna Salai and another arterial road in the city were chosen to launch pilot projects for a larger beautification initiative. The success of the pilot led to the project being extended to the entire Chennai Corporation limits a year later. Subsequently, more than 3000 public walls were prohibited from being used for posters and the like. Moreover, Chennai was being more and more ‘embellished’ with beautification murals: main roads, junctions, and flyovers were being decorated with images of cultural and natural settings, providing parts of the city with a new look.

The cities of Tamil Nadu are the location of a vibrant street culture of publicity of which fan imagery only makes up a part. Commercial ads promoting consumer products, political parties, and films prevailed and tower above the main thoroughfares in major cities. What stands out is the scale and ubiquity of political hoardings, posters, and murals commissioned by political parties and their supporters.