Shrinking landing space for film stars in politics
As megastars who dazzled their audiences, they have had a mesmerising hold on fans. It’s a hold that some of them successfully converted into political vote banks. We are, of course, talking of film stars of southern India, with the notable exception of Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and to a lesser extent in Karnataka, until even a few decades ago, being a star from tinseltown was seen almost as a ticket to political office.
MG Ramachandran was perhaps the trendsetter.
But he was not just a star. MGR was an active member of the DMK for over a decade and rose to become the party treasurer. During the period he was in the party, he carefully cultivated his screen image. He would always portray the do-gooder, the underdog taking on the powerful. His directors would back him with powerful punchlines and memorable lyrics loaded with political significance.
Thus, when he chose to break away and form the AIADMK, he was, in many ways, bigger than his former party. Electoral success followed almost immediately. Once he came to power, as long as he was alive, he was never defeated.
Jayalalithaa, a popular actress and MGR’s heroine in several hit movies, too had an innings in the AIADMK as propaganda secretary and Rajya Sabha MP when MGR was the chief minister.
In her case, it was not just the star image or roles she did that helped her in politics. It was her proximity to MGR and only after his death that she came into her own, or in some ways was forced to, as a bulk of the party backed MGR’s widow Janaki. Jayalalithaa found herself fighting a battle for legitimacy. She won it resoundingly and the rest is history.
The case of NT Rama Rao in AP was quite different.
In his movie career, NTR played the role of not just the hero but of gods in so many films that people actually believed him to be superhuman. His appearances as Lord Krishna, a role he essayed in as many as 17 films, had a magical hold on Telugu audiences. He played almost every major god in the Hindu pantheon. To the audiences in AP, he was almost a devudu or god himself. He founded the Telugu Desam Party in March 1982 and by January 1983, was the chief minister of AP, winning the assembly elections by a landslide.
In more recent times, the going has been more difficult for stars. The likes of Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj and Sarath Kumar have all come a cropper, while the late Vijayakanth tasted moderate success, albeit in an alliance with the AIADMK. Rajinikanth, after keeping the public guessing about his political plunge for over two decades, pulled out at the last minute.
In AP, Pawan Kalyan is now the deputy chief minister. But while his movie career fetched him a huge fan base, his success can be attributed to more than just the roles he essayed. He started off as the youth wing leader of his brother megastar Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party. It was only six years later that he floated his own outfit, the Jana Sena. And it has been the alliance with the TDP and BJP that finally helped him make it big.
The new kid on the political block is Tamil star Vijay.
His fan base is largely the youth and, based on their support, he has launched his Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam. His movie roles have largely been those of the anti-establishment hero taking on the odds. Nothing unique there, except several of his movies have been huge box office hits, making him one of the highest paid actors in the industry today.
At his recent party conference, he identified the BJP and DMK as his two political rivals and said he was open to alliances for the 2026 assembly elections. If he contests as part of a strong alliance, he could have a political future.
The list of southern stars who made it to parliament is long. Ambareesh and Sumalatha from Karnataka, Chiranjeevi who was also a Union minister, Suresh Gopi from Kerala, who is now a minister in the Modi government, and a number of lesser-known stars made it to the Lok Sabha. Most of them succeeded as members of national or established regional parties and did not strike out on their own.
With the passage of time and the emergence of social media, the era of movie stars making a big impact in politics is starting to diminish. In the last 25 years, no actor has been able to emerge as the leader of a dominant party in any state. The few who have made it have largely depended on alliances; their longevity in politics is as yet unproven.
Maybe the 24x7 scrutiny politicians now face thanks to social media is exposing some of the inadequacies of stars, something that may have gone unnoticed even two decades ago. People now are also much more educated and can separate reel from real.
What ultimately is the message that voters are sending to actors? Their star status can ensure they are listened to. The curiosity factor will ensure crowds will initially throng their meetings to hear them. But that is where the indulgence seems to stop. Thereafter, the public is going to judge them much like any other political leader: on their ideology, their work as a politician and of course, their money and muscle power.
Those from the movie industry who thought they had a free ticket to political stardom have realised they face a rude awakening. That ride may only get rougher in the years ahead.
(Views are personal.)
Sumanth C Raman
Political analyst, television anchor and author of 'Sick Business: The Truth Behind Healthcare in India'