Chiranjeevi,BalaKrishna,Jr NTR and Pawan Kalyan Flop In Politics
The wise men always say that there is a stark difference between real life and reel life and that holds good even for the film stars who tried their hand at politics and fell flat on the ground. The political experts say that stars do not have anything to offer in terms of ideology and instead they reduce politics to a mere spectacle of glamour. It’s been a flop show at the polls for almost all the South Indian film stars. This is said to have caused a major embarrassment to all the party chiefs who were vouching that the presence of cine glamour really works.
The classic example for that is Rebel star of Kannada industry Ambareesh who lost from Mandya constituency, then there is the actor-activist Ashok along with actor-producer CP Yogeshwar who lost from the Bangalore Rural constituency. Coming to Tollywood, a total of Twelve Telugu film stars contested the elections in Andhra Pradesh this year. Out of them, only four – Chiranjeevi, Vijayashanthi, Jayasudha and film producer Kodali Nani emerged triumphant.
Expressing his views was V N Subba Rao, the noted journalist and political analyst who said that Indian voters have become quite mature and smart in choosing their candidates. He also added that they are not carried away by glamour and they are voting for the development, which is a very good sign. Chiranjeevi’s defeat in Palakollu, his hometown serves as a big lesson to other film stars. Even his charisma and success in filmdom could not be translated into political success, Subba Rao stated.
The highlight of the election this year is that the Praja Rajyam Party received a severe beating and thankfully its founder and president Chiranjeevi is among the 18 legislators elected to the assembly. The megastar is representing Tirupati, the temple town where he launched his party in August last year. As most of them are aware, he lost from Palakollu, his hometown in West Godavari district.
The noted Kannada movie maker and journo Kavitha Lankesh said that film stars may pull in large crowds during election meetings and rallies, but they cannot guarantee votes. Most of them gather to have a glimpse of the stars and that’s where the story begins and ends. In the south, Film stars are the demigods to millions of people and the Indian cinema also happens to be the world’s biggest film industry. Their popularity was particularly felt in the South, where huge cutouts are displayed at busy junctions, and fans are often seen performing special poojas at temples dedicated to them.
However, a change is said to have taken place and many are heard saying that the days of MGR and NTR are over. The Telugu thespian, N T Rama Rao, who founded the Telugu Desam Party, could make it big because the entire film industry was solidly behind him. His call for Telugu Atmagauravam (self-respect) became a wave that swept away the Congress. Down south in Tamilnaud, M G Ramachandran’s hero worship was at its peak. MGR, who had the demigod image, could easily cash in on the trend and emerge as a successful leader. These were the views from the noted TV serial director and playwright T N Seetharam. Incidentally, he also contested and lost the 1999 Assembly elections from Gauribidanur, his hometown.
In Karnataka, no film star has struck gold in politics. According to many political experts, Ambareesh’s political career has been the showcase to the fate of movie-idols-turned-politicians in the state. Ambarish was once the minister of state for information and broadcasting and he also has the distinction of being among three Karnataka MPs who did not utter a word throughout his term. Subba Rao said that Ambareesh had a hold over the people of Mandya and Mysore because of his caste. With Shashikumar also, it was his caste and not his star image that played a major role when he won the parliamentary polls in 1999. This gives an idea as to how the caste factor plays a major role.
Overall, it has become crystal clear that film stars are fit only for the glamour and the entertainment purpose. It takes a true leader to actually lead the people and the nation to a prosperous future.
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