India elections: Stars foretell a rosy picture but with tinted glasses!
Major political parties have roped in movie and TV actors
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha 2019 polls have been dubbed by the Election Commission as ‘India’s Mega Festival’. And living up to the hype, major political parties across the country have roped in movie and TV actors.
Even as they take centre stage as candidates or star campaigners, people clamour to get their glimpse during road shows; the lucky ones take selfies. Proving that entertainment is not separate from politics, some of these actors resort to gimmicks to pull in the votes.
But, as political analyst Raj Kiran puts it, “Being a celebrity is not an automatic ticket to political stardom. As recognised figures, they do get tremendous advantage over their rivals, but criticism follows if they do not perform their political duties. This mainly happens with those who happily accept government’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha, but neither attend parliamentary sessions nor participate in debates or raise issues. In such cases, no amount of fan base can help them.”
In the past, some top stars like ‘Tragedy King’ Dilip Kumar, ‘Pride of Actors’ Shivaji Ganesan, Vyjyanthimala and Nargis played lacklustre roles in politics as members of the Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, actress and Rajya Sabha member Shabana Azmi, also a formidable social activist, has refused to be sucked into the muddle of politics.
Though powerful influencers are few and far between, celebrities who refused to toe the party line and continued holding strong individual views on political issues were ‘Evergreen Hero’ Dev Anand and playback singer Kishore Kumar. Both dared to speak against the Emergency (1975-77) imposed by the Congress government.
Just as Bollywood actors have transited from films to politics, Tamil Nadu is no stranger to on-screen heroes transforming into successful politicians. The big names include M K Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha, both of who shaped the state’s politics for over three decades.
Kamal Hassan, south mega star, who launched his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam (People’s Justice Centre) early last year, is drawing huge crowds. The masses are ecstatic and going into a frenzy seeing the mustachioed megastar step onto the stage. Although not contesting, he has fielded candidates and is campaigning for them.
The phenomenon of actors entering politics has also been true to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. N T Rama Rao served as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983-1994. Cine stars M G Ramachandran and Chiranjeevi, who had an electrifying presence in Telugu films, were other successful actors-turned politicians.
It was the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime (1999-2004) that provided a stellar show with the entry of Bollywood villains-turned-heroes Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna joining the BJP. Both were elevated to the post of ministers in the Council of Ministers. Hema Malini too first campaigned for BJP candidate Vinod Khanna in 1999 and officially joined the party in 2004. She served as an MP in Rajya Sabha and in the 2014 LS elections defeated Chaudhary Charan Singh’s grandson and Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Jayant Chaudhary from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. She is re-contesting from Mathura.
With an increase in celebrity activism, BJP is once again aimed at pursuing film stars after a similar experiment paid off in 2014 on fielding Bhojpuri actor and singer Manoj Tiwari Bengali singer Babul Supriyo, and actors Paresh Rawal (not contesting) and Kirron Kher.
A new lease of life has been added to the polls with Bollywood stars Sunny Deol and Moushumi Chatterjee, Bhojpuri singers and actors Ravi Kishen and Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, the bhangra pop and Sufiana singer Hans Raj Hans, and a name synonymous with salons and hair styling Jawed Habib joining the BJP.
Those siding with the Congress include, television actor and Bigg Boss 11 winner Shilpa Shinde and model and Bigg Boss 11 contestant Arshi Khan.
Even as colour and gaiety is added to the great tamasha that Indian politics has become, Professor Shyam Saran admits that celebrity presence does influence voters. However, he adds, “It’s also a big responsibility on their part. Getting noticed is only the first step towards jump-starting their political career. Citizens can no way benefit from a celebrity-turned-politician if the person has nothing substantial to bring to the table.”
The art of wooing well-known faces from the Indian cinema began with the Congress in the 1980s. Bollywood actor Sunil Dutt set a precedent how reel life hero can be loved and admired in real life. Unlike some actors, for him, politics was not a fallback career option. He established a connect with the electorate and went on to become member of the Lok Sabha five times.
Similarly, ‘Angry Young Man’ Amitabh Bachchan entered politics around the same time to support his friend Rajiv Gandhi, then prime minister of India. He contested on Congress ticket and won from the Allahabad (now Prayagraj) constituency. But disgusted with the cesspool politics, quit midway through his term in Parliament.
Elected from Mumbai North in 2004, Govinda faced lot of criticism the very next year for his inaccessibility by people of his constituency during the Mumbai floods. He too quit midterm and returned to films.
The heart-throb of millions, ‘He-Man’ Dharmendra won the 2004 General Elections on a BJP ticket from Bikaner in Rajasthan. Soon, he realised that politics was not his cup of lassi (butter milk, a popular drink among the Punjabi community). Locals inserted an advertisement in a newspaper inquiring about their ‘missing’ politician, who never visited the constituency after winning!
‘Kaka’ Rajesh Khanna, the first superstar of Bollywood, who starred in 15 consecutive hit films (1969 to 1971), still an unbroken record, campaigned for the Congress at the behest of Rajiv Gandhi in 1984. He fought the election from New Delhi constituency, losing to BJP’s L K Advani by a narrow margin, but in a by-election in 1992, defeated fellow actor Shatrughan Sinha. By the time his tenure came to an end, Khanna had lost interest in active politics. He continued to campaign for the party until 2012 Punjab Assembly elections.
As celebrity campaigners are gung-ho for political parties, the tempo of the election beat has gone up many notches in this sweltering heat.
Lights, camera, action!
Hema Malini
The actor-turned-politician Hema Malini became a butt of several jokes after she posted her pictures on Twitter. Having played the role of a gain ki gori (village belle) in umpteen Bollywood films, she led a dramatic campaign by displaying her farming skills along with women in the fields. Draped in a sari, matching the colour of golden harvests and holding a sickle in hand, while the BJP lawmaker resorted to the gimmick to garner votes, it instead earned her snide remarks.
Raj Babbar
He entered politics in 1989 by joining the Janata Dal. Raj Babbar later joined the Samajwadi Party and was a member of Rajya Sabha (1994-99). He won the 2004 LS elections, but was suspended from the party in 2006. He joined the Congress in 2008 and won the 2009 LS polls. He lost the 2014 general elections and serves as the president of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
Shatrughan Sinha
Bollywood’s favourite villain-turned hero became BJP’s star campaigner in 1984 and ventured into hard-core politics in 1992. Shatrughan Sinha became a member of Rajya Sabha (two terms) from 1996 to 2008. He was appointed Minister of Health (2002) and Minister of Shipping (2003). He won the LS elections from Bihar’s Patna Sahib constituency in 2009 and 2014. The dissident leader joined Congress recently and is once again fighting from Patna Sahib, Bihar.
Poonam Sinha
Crowned Miss Young India in 1968, the former fashion model-turned-actress and wife of Shatrughan Sinha, joined the Samajwadi Party. Poonam Sinha is pitted against BJP’s heavyweight Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Smriti Irani
Former model and television actress, Smriti Irani joined the BJP in 2003 and in 2004 became the vice president of the Maharashtra Youth Wing. Contesting against Congress leader Kapil Sibal, she lost the LS elections from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk constituency in 2004. Appointed national general secretary in 2010, she was sworn in as member of the Rajya Sabha in 2011. She lost the 2014 LS elections against Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi constituency, but got appointed as Minister of Human Resource Development (2014) and in the cabinet reshuffle was given the Ministry of Textiles.
Kirron Kher
She started her political career with her involvement with a girl-child campaign ‘Laadli’ against infanticide. In 2011, Kirron Kher participated in social activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement. She campaigned for the BJP during 2011 municipal corporation elections. In 2014 LS elections, she fought and won the Chandigarh seat.
Jaya Prada
The BJP has taken the much-acclaimed actress Jaya Prada in its fold to fight the senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan from Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur constituency. Leaving the film industry at the peak of her career, she made her political foray with Telugu Desam Party (1994), followed by Samajwadi Party (2004) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (2014).
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar, who shot to fame as a child star in the 1983 Bollywood blockbuster Masoom, joined the Congress party and may contest from Mumbai North. In full campaign mode, the Rangeela girl drove an auto rickshaw during her campaign in Mumbai, drawing attention of the onlookers.
Ravi Kishen
Speculations are rife that popular Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishen, already on campaign trail, might also fight on a BJP ticket. Aware of his immense popularity in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he is reported to have claimed that if he is asked to contest even from hell, he, just as the party he is representing, could win from anywhere and everywhere!
Prakash Raj
South Indian film star Prakash Raj, who unhesitatingly airs his opinions, campaigned against the BJP in the Karnataka assembly polls. Not identifying himself with any political party, he has announced contesting the upcoming polls from Bengaluru Central as an independent candidate.
Sunny Deol
Actor, producer, director and son of Bollywood heart-throb Dharmendra, Sunny Deol is fighting on a BJP ticket from Gurdaspur, Punjab. With over a hundred films and two National Awards to his credit, he is particularly known for letting his fists to the talking in films.
Isha Koppikar
Known for playing protagonist in Bollywood, Tamil and Telugu movies for which she has garnered more critical appreciation, Isha Koppikar joined the BJP in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Federal minister for Road Transport & Highways. She has been appointed as the working president of the BJPs women transport wing.