Kollywood turns into political business ground

The political script for the Tamil Nadu 'power' stage has always included a delightful mix of corporate patronage and power play by silver screen veterans. Kollywood turned into a virtual business ground from where many a politician jumped on to the national political bandwagon. Veteran actor MG Ramachandran, who became chief minister of the state in 1977, commanded a considerable sway over the votebank thanks to the endearing image he projected through his roles. He was succeeded by his onscreen partner J Jayalalitha who is leading the party as a major opposition to the DMK.

The DMK, on the other hand, is being led by chief minister M Karunanidhi, who also started his career as a playwright and later became a scriptwriter for Tamil movies. Call it inspiration or just the DNA of Tamil cinema, many actors have forayed into south Indian politics since the nineties. Actor and producer Vijaya T Rajendhar captures the audience through his alliterative speeches; theatre artiste S Ve Sekhar uses irony to garner Brahmin vote base; actress Radhika beams into households through soaps on cable TV. She launched a party with her husband and actor Sarath Kumar.

The 2004 Lok Sabha elections saw a host of comedians and actors enter the campaign scene if not entering the fray. Comedy actor Senthil campaigned in south TN while Dhaamu sought votes in Chennai using his mimicking skills and north Madras accent. Actor and dancer Bharath in 'MGR-style' may put the party he is campaigning to poll advantage this year. Starting with veteran actress Manorama to Kushboo, whose fans built a temple dedicated to her, some actresses too have lent their support to parties.
The more recent one being Simran. Being a Punjabi by birth and Mumbai-ite by upbringing has not deterred her from campaigning in the polls.

"But, film stars campaigning for parties can't really be called political. It is similar to being a product's brand ambassador for the election season. But, such political branding never did pick up much in the south, as it did in the north, in recent times." says an Chennai based brand manager. It is more regional popularity than fan base that makes actors valuable during election campaigns. Ever since 'Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu, named after river Vaigai in Madurai where he hails from, clashed with actor Vijayakanth, also from Madurai, on a non-political issue, it has been rumoured that every other party would use him to campaign against Vijayakanth's DMDK at Madurai. Be it anti-hero Napoleon's long standing popularity at his constituency Perambur or Sekhar's at Mylapore, it has been the support that they get out of their community in those areas.

Actor Sarath Kumar, also the president of the south Indian film actors association, is said to be riding on his Nadar caste origins to contest at Tirunelveli, a Nadar vote base. "In fact, it is usually the actors who approach political parties for campaigning, as it helps their visibility. But, this year, the actors have by and large kept mum. Maybe the action will start once the alliances are finalised." explains the manager. Kollywood veterans, however, see a fundamental change and don't expect 'action'. "Actors get more than the visibility they bargain for nowadays. Not only does the entertainment media cover them, the news and business media are starting to take interest in this industry as well," they say. "It is only in the last decade that celebrities signing up as corporate brand ambassadors became business news! For others, there are always lifestyle channels and publications, yet again an invention of the recent past." the veteran adds.

Lending their face to campaigns on social issues, NGOs and CSR activities have also picked up with actors in the south quite recently. "It probably gives them the needed visibility, sans the political complication," the veteran says. Political analysts introduce another angle which will hold actors back from getting involved in elections, particularly this year — the mess up between alliance partners at the centre and state in dealing with the Sri Lankan Tamils and Cauvery river water issue. "After the film community went on fasts and rallies on these issues, the state government decided to pedal slow, letting down actors and their public image. It is another matter whether using film actors will even work in an era of alliance politics where every regional party hopes to have a part to play in Delhi." they say.

A Televisionpoint News