Essay on privacy about film stars and politicians
Answers
When, Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister was on a visit to USA during ire Ronald Regan’s Presidential regime, the fact that a Hollywood star who had starred in as many as 50 films had by then climbed to super stardom as US President, didn’t raise her eyebrows.
In a disarming smile she disclosed that in her country there was already a well-known film star in the Tamil film world who had become the Chief Minister of Madras State. Perhaps M.G. Ramachandran was the first film star in the country to have become the Chief Minister of a State.
For that mariner Tamil Cinema has been a pioneer in projecting film stars or those associated with the film industry in one capacity or another in the political field. The redoubtable DMK Chief Mr. Karunanidhi was himself a great script writer for several classical films in Tamil. M.G. Ramachandran—affectionately called MGR by his fans in Tamil Nadu—was popularly known as the icon of the masses.
MGR broke away from Karunanidhi’s TMK to form the AIADMK. MGR was totally identified with the welfare of the underdog he sought to duplicate in the political field the stellar role he played in the cine world. As a rabble-rouser he used the filmy language to touch the tender chords of his Tamil audience. “I know what it means to be hungry for I myself was hungry for days together and I know that it means to be unemployed for I myself roamed the streets of cities for a job.” Such speeches made the masses feel he was one of them.
The day he was assaulted by another film star (who always plays the role of a villain), there were riots in madras. One of the greatest reforms he introduced to tackle child malnutrition and school dropouts was midday meals for school children, a programme the Government of India is implementing all over the country. MGR, the lionized hero of the celluloid and the political arena, had been the household name in Tamil Nadu. He is the only film star-turned-politician to have been honoured with the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
Ms. Jayalalitha, the chief of AIADMK, and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, too, entered the political arena through the popular appeal gained in Tamil cinema. She was the heroine in many of the MGR films and struggled hard, despite several setbacks, to become the political heir- apparent of MGR.
Some of the top stars like Mr. Shivaji Ganesan, Ms. Vyjyanthimala, Mr. Dalip Kumar, Ms. Nargis Dutt and others have played just luster roles in politics as Members of the Rajya Sabha. But an actress like Ms. Shabana Azmi is a powerful social activist, though she refused to be sucked into the whirlpool of dirty politics.
Answer:
Politics has always had a strange fascination for film stars. In Tamilnadu we had MGR and Jayalalitha, and in Andhra Pradesh we had NTR who became the Chief Ministers of their states.
Sunil Dutt was another example of a film star turned politician. We also have people like Chiranjeevi, Jayaprada, Sanjay Dutt, Vijayakanth and Sarathkumar who have a foot in films and another in politics. But this mingling of films and politics is not always a healthy trend.
Some can make the transition successfully but others find the going tough. Kerala is one state where film and politics have never mixed. Prem Nazir, a popular hero of yesteryears, tried his luck but failed. In Tamilnadu there has been much speculation about superstar Rajnikanth’s entry into politics. But he has maintained an enigmatic silence so far.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Amitabh Bachchan too tried to dabble in politics and withdrew after he got his fingers burnt. Heroes like MGR and NTR were helped in their political aspirations by the fact that they had a strong public image of saviors of the poor and the downtrodden. People, especially the poor and the unlettered, often tend to forget that roles are only make-believe.
The person behind the greasepaint may be a totally different being than the characters he portrays on screen. Of course, he may not be a bad person but ruling a state and its people is not like enacting a role in a film. Still, people like MGR and Jayalalitha have done many good things for the people.
The noon meal scheme for poor children was introduced by MGR. The ‘cradle baby scheme’ to prevent female feticide was implemented by Jayalalitha who was MGR’s heroine and protege.