BENGALURU : As someone who has never really visited the United States of America, I imagine the nation to be one large reality show. Perhaps it is due to all the movies I’ve watched in childhood, where aliens, natural calamities and dinosaurs choose the US to make an appearance. I have always imagined the USA as a land where anything could happen. And so the recent news of Kanye West running for the president of the United States, while amusing, didn’t come as a complete shock.
It has happened earlier. Arnold Schwarzenegger – whom we used to call Arnold Suhasnagar – was a childhood hero who starred in some of my favourite films. He ended up becoming the governor of California. Donald Trump himself produced and starred ina successful reality television show that ran for nearly a decade. Former president Ronald Reagan had acted in a number of movies before retiring and getting into the real acting business – politics But perhaps it is easier for actors to morph into politicians. For one, they are used to delivering lines written by others. They are adept at playing a role – appearing powerful, compassionate and empathetic. So it is understandable that actors would consider transitioning to full-time acting by becoming politicians.
It’s something we’ve witnessed in India too. After decades of playing the Angry Young Man, Amitabh Bachchan considered becoming the Angry Young Man’s nemesis – the politician. Chiranjeevi also dipped his feet into the dirty water of politics, only to retire and get back into acting. Rajinikanth has been flirting with the idea of a political career for decades, whereas Kamal Haasan has begun his political journey, even though it lies more in the ‘parallel’ than ‘mainstream’ zone of politics.
But a singer becoming a politician? Singers have historically spoken up against politics and politicians. John Lennon asked us to imagine a world without politics. Bob Dylan told us that the answer to urgent political questions was blowing in the wind. Bob Marley reminded us that love was stronger than every other superpower. But a singer becoming a politician is hard to imagine. Singers spend many years of their lives writing and recording inside studios. But when they meet people, they do so directly in multiples of thousands. Singers also have a finger on the pulse of the people. They know how to please the masses, and might be a natural for populist schemes.
If Kanye West does become the president of the United States, Kim Kardashian will become the First Lady. It will truly be the Golden Age of Paparazzi. Address to the nation could cut the clutter and directly stream on Instagram Live. On foreign trips, Kanye could conduct concerts and speak directly to the people, instead of geriatric representatives whispering behind closed doors. And Kanye West is not just any singer – he’s a hip-hop artiste. Perhaps we have had enough of the cliche of a suit-boot wearing president. Perhaps it is time for presidents to dress in baseball caps and oversized jerseys. And sneakers too, for one of the most important jobs of a US president is sneaking around middle-eastern countries with oil reserves. One assumes Prime Minister Modi would have no objection to the new norm. Apart from rappers and hip-hop artistes, he’s the only person I know who wears suits with his own name emblazoned across! It will be a true case of East meet (Kanye) West!