BENGALURU: If there’s one Kannada actor who is known to come up with ‘out of the box’ scripts – then it is ‘Real Star’ Upendra. The star did just that on Tuesday: scripted a novel launch of his political party at Gandhi Bhavan here.
He was the director, lead actor and dialogue writer. The show began with a reversal of roles. He made the media sit on the dais while he sat among the audience, true to what he calls the spirit of his party, a party of and for the common man. “ We are here, because of you,” he told the media. There were many such one-liners. A journalist lighted the lamp to mark the launch of the party.
Everyone was curious to know the name of the party. It was not Prajakeeya as was originally thought of nor does it have a quirky and short title like his movies Om, A, H2O or Shhh. Rather, it’s quite a mouthful. Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Paksha (Karnataka Enlightened People’s Party). Not his party but a party for the people, said Upendra.
“Those who are passionate about the cause can join me. It has always been my dream to make a change,” Upendra said to a burst of loud applause. His every ‘dialogue’ was greeted with claps and whistles like in any theatre screening his movie.
The colour was khaki, a symbol of labour force. He wore a khaki shirt and so did his supporters. His family too followed suit: While his mother wore a khaki shirt over her saree, his actor-wife Priyanka wore it over her salwar suit. His goal is not “Mission 150’ (winning 150 seats as is BJP’s goal). But it is ‘Mission impossible’, he said stunning the audience. True to his style, after a dramatic pause, he said, “I meant....Mission I’m Possible!”
‘If we lose, we will contest again’
He said his party will field candidates from all the 224 Assembly constituencies. “We will do micro-level planning. I will work better and contest again in the next elections. When I am 70 years old, I should not regret not having tried anything for my society,’’ he said.