From box office to ballot box, film stars continue to take the plunge
Bollywood actor Sunny Deol becomes the latest in a long list of film stars to join politicsFilm stars in the south have become powerful regional leaders rather than mere crowd-pullers like in north India
BENGALURU : In joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), popular Bollywood actor Sunny Deol became the latest in a long list of film stars who have sought a role on the political stage.
The trend may have begun with the late actor and poet Harindranath Chattopadhyay, who was elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952.
Deol is the quintessential Jat whose reel life victims include powerful criminals and possibly the whole of Pakistan in movies like Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Border.
“The feeling on Indian nationalism, patriotism when so beautifully evoked through film can really touch the chord of every Indian citizen," defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, after formally inducting Deol into the party.
Sunny is the third member of his family after his father Dharmendra and stepmother Hema Malini to join the BJP.
Analysts say such moves are more pronounced in southern states like Tamil Nadu and erstwhile unified Andhra Pradesh where film stars have become powerful regional politicians rather than mere crowd-pullers like in north India.
“In the north, you need a film star who fits into factors of the party than have their own larger than life image," said Manisha Priyam, a political analyst and academic.
Though several Bollywood stars have taken the plunge in the past and in the ongoing parliamentary elections, only a handful, such as the late Sunil Dutt, have been able to make a successful transition from movies to politics in the north.
This is in stark contrast to the south, where personalities like N.T. Rama Rao, M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa laid down a common foundation for their film and political careers.
“In Tamil Nadu, it became common to use cinema as a propaganda tool," Baradwaj Rangan, a film critic said. Even Amitabh Bachchan’s brief foray into politics was more due to his proximity with the Gandhi family than any particular kind of character he modelled himself around, analysts said.
Films like Uri: The Surgical Strike, a fictionalized account of the 2016 cross border strikes have been used by the BJP to drum up support in its favour. The line, ‘How’s the josh?" from the film is often used in BJP rallies to pump up crowds.
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is woven around a government scheme Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, while The Accidental Prime Minister, a biopic of former PM Manmohan Singh, has been used to target the Congress.
Film personalities like Guru Dutt, Balraj Sahni and Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, among others have used films to make political comments, unlike actors today who prefer ‘mainstream masala’ over content to hit the ₹100-crore-plus exclusive clubs.
“In the north, it seems that you only develop a political career when you actually don’t have much of a film career left," Ashish Rajadhyaksha, film historian and senior fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society said.
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