When "abhinetas" turn "netas"
By Kukil Bora, SiliconIndia   |   Saturday, 22 January 2011, 13:46 IST   |    14 Comments
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Bangalore: In India, the practice of film stars entering politics is not a new phenomenon. It has been in vogue for quite some time. Many film stars have started their second innings with a transition from films to politics. Whether we talk of southern film stars like N.T. Rama Rao and M.G. Ramachandran, or their Bollywood counterparts like Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna, the film industry has time and again made its presence felt in India's political scene. But how many of the abhineta-turn-netas have carved a special place for themselves in politics? Barring a few like NTR, MGR and Shabana Azmi, who spent quality time for the benefit of those who elected them, many tinsel town stars have failed miserably to leave a mark in politics. During the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance, and in 2004 Lok Sabha elections he turned to the BJP-AIADMK alliance. But Rajini's star power didn't work for his political picks. Many believe that most of the film stars envisage politics as a lucrative business and they enter politics only to add glitz and glamour to campaigns. However, there are success stories as well. Perhaps the best examples of astounding success of any film star in politics are the MGR-Jayalalitha duo in Tamil Nadu and NT Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh. But compared to the south Indian film stars, Bollywood film stars have comparatively found lesser success in politics. Is it because the image of the southern film stars as a messiah carries off-screen as well, which is not in the case of those from Bollywood? Whatever it is, the film stars in south are able to register their star power in electoral terrain so far. For many Bollywood stars, the electoral triumph never really translated into real political success. In the 2007 UP assembly polls, Amitabh Bachchan made his come back to the political scene after the Bofors scam and supported Mulayam Singh. But despite all his efforts, Samajwadi Party failed to pin down Mayawati. Popular television actress Smriti Irani, who became a house-hold name with her popular serial "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", also failed in politics despite her mass TV appeal. We have lots of such instances when political parties rope in film stars to campaign for elections, but their move didn't serve them up to the mark. However, there are exceptions too. The late Sunil Dutt and Vinod Khanna gained widespread acceptability through their hard work and wide accessibility as they made a genuine transition to politics. We welcome the film stars who have ventured into the political scene to show their efficiency and strive for the development of society and the people. But those film stars, used by the politicians to improve their visibility, are not going to be accepted by people anymore. People today question, why should Congress require Shakti Kapoor or Celina Jaitley to tell the public about its virtues, why should BJP need Poonam Dhillon or Jitendra to show up its merits? Today, voters prefer candidates who are accessible to them and solve their problems, not the crowd-pullers. The heady cocktail of film stars and politics is under a strict public scanner now.

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