A black saree with a turquoise border, a suitcase, watchful police officers, a hopeful Dev Anand and the ruins of Nalanda – these were the crucial ingredients of Johny Mera Naam, the film that made Hema Malini a star in 1970. That’s long before most people reading this were even born, so forgive Hema Malini her dark glasses, her SUV sunroof, her umbrella, and her Mother India act in the farms of Govardhan, Mathura.
In a political universe dominated by men, women usually have to fit into two boxes – the sati savitri sindoorwali or the singleton. Rarely is anyone else allowed access into the hallowed halls of power. Women film stars, however, are given some latitude for attitude, no matter which party or parties they join, whether it is Jaya Prada, Divya Spandana, or Hema Malini. Inducted into the BJP by M. Venkaiah Naidu in 2004, she has been a Rajya Sabha member twice, a Lok Sabha member from Mathura between 2014 and 2019, and if the media mileage her campaign has got so far is to be believed, she is all set to return to Parliament in June.
And Lalu Prasad Yadav, sitting in Ranchi Jail, who once said the roads of Bihar will become as smooth as her cheeks, will not be the only one celebrating.
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She won the election from the temple town of Mathura by defeating Jayant Chaudhary (RLD) by a massive margin of over three lakh votes in 2014. Now, she is up against two foes – the joint might of RLD-BSP-SP mahagathbandhan and the Congress. After filing her nomination papers, she even told reporters that this is going to be her last election, but said she will be available for the people of Mathura even after that.
Whether it is four-time Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury who revels in the fact that Malini cannot be “pushed around and is firm about what she wants” or media analyst Amit Khanna who says her entry into politics was as unexpected but as accepted as that of Sonia Gandhi, Bollywood’s Dream Girl seems to be floating on a cloud of popularity that has little to do with her performance as an MP.
Hema Malini, the MP, has been mocked for rarely stepping out in the sun without her umbrella during her campaign tours in Mathura. Even when she pops out of her car through her sunroof, her handyman is ready with the umbrella. “Dream girl or drama girl?” asked some people on Twitter while referring to her ‘farm girl routine’ – the pictures of her cutting crops launched dozens of memes of ‘dhanno and dhan’. Another picture, where she posed with a woman carrying a headload of dried wood, generated jokes about how Modi’s Ujjwala cooking cylinders haven’t reached Mathura.
Her political records are no match for her dazzling smile. Her attendance in the Lok Sabha is a mere 39 per cent against a national average of 80 per cent; she has participated in 17 debates against a national average of 65; but has asked 210 questions against a national average of 285 – on matters ranging from illegal Bangladeshi illegal migrants to Chinese incursions. She may be fuzzy on the details on what she has achieved for her constituency, which she thinks is spread over 3,000 km, making it five times the size of Mumbai. She may be convinced that she has a “divine connection” with Mathura because she has been playing Meera and Radha all her life. And she may believe that driving a tractor with specially installed mist generators, pointed out in a tweet by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, is the best way to mark her connection with rural voters. Last month, the RLD spokesperson even wrote to the Election Commission to pull down Hema Malini’s water purifier ads.
Her MPLADS record is unremarkable. Of the Rs 25 crore sanctioned to each constituency, the government released only Rs 15 crore for Mathura, of which the expenditure incurred by the district was Rs 12.14 crore, of which Rs 3.72 crore was yet to be spent as of September last year. Her grand dream of creating an international standard theme park in Vrindavan remains a dream even four years after she first discussed it.
Also read: On Hema Malini’s campaign trail — rose petals, cow dung & a child’s naming ceremony
But she is a diva and she has no qualms about broadcasting it. The sense of entitlement comes from her accomplishments as an actress. She was the most popular female star in Bollywood for over two decades, continuing to work after her much-discussed marriage with Dharmendra, which required both to convert to Islam.
She was a trailblazer in many ways. This, in an industry where she declared on Simi Garewal’s TV show Rendezvous in 1999: “The moment you get married they make you a mother. That’s what they tried to do with me, offering me roles as Jeetendra and Amitabh Bachchan’s mother.” But as she added in the same interview, she had decided since her first film in Mumbai, with Raj Kapoor, who introduced her as the Dream Girl in Sapnon ka Saudagar (1968), “I must become the best”.
It is the same confidence that carried her through a career of over 200 movies; enabled her to take her passion for Bharatnatyam to greater heights with tours all over India and the world; and have made her a winner for the BJP, as a campaigner since 1999 and as a member since 2004. Journalist Bhawana Somaaya, who has known her since 1978 and wrote her biography in 2007, says she travelled with her on her last campaign, and was amazed at her hard work. “Even when she returned to the hotel, she would meet people in the lobby, then shower, do her pooja and only then join us for dinner,” she said. Somaaya hasn’t accompanied her this time, but sends her videos of her Bharatnatyam dance practice (Somaaya took up dance again recently). “She sent me her comments from Mathura. She has time and emotion for the people she cares about.” However, few they may be.
Long-time observers huff about her unloading an MLA from her car because of the strong smell of the hair oil he had used. Others insist she will travel only in cars large enough to suit her stature as a star. And no matter who is telling her what to do, she will do only what she wants—it goes back to her days in the industry, where she would refuse to “expose”, even ensuring her sari would remain pinned to the blouse so she would not be caught out by weird angles or do “jhatka and matka” steps suggested by choreographers that she considered an insult to her beloved classical dance school.
Also read: Bollywood stars and their readymade support base: Why Indian politics can’t do without them
She has created a fortune for herself – her poll affidavit shows her total wealth estimate, including bungalows, jewellery, cash, shares and term deposits, to be Rs 101 crore, up from Rs 66 crore in 2014.
She has raised two daughters as a single mother, will remain immortal for her many roles, not the least of which is Basanti from the iconic 1975 classic Sholay, and shows no sign of running away from politics.
Veteran political analyst Sharat Pradhan says she claims she has spent 250 days in Mathura over the past five years, but no one is ready to believe that. “She hasn’t done much for Mathura, but unlike in 2014, there is no formidable opponent against her. Her celebrity status may well see her through,” he said.
Hema Malini has already proved her staying power in an industry that reveres youth and thrives on built-in obsolescence. If she manages to win a second term from Mathura, she may well want recompense in the event of the BJP coming to power. This time the fictional Razia Sultana’s Dilli dreams may have a happy ending when Mathura goes to polls on 18 April.
The author is a senior journalist.
She is a superstar because of her hardwork and discipline…Do you talk about any other 70s heroine even today other than hema malini..she is a very good MP. she has utilized most of her MPLADs..look at upgrading of 2 mathura railway stations, Roads, solar lights and upgrading STPs for yamuna cleaning. With the grace of lord krishna she is going to ein this time as well and there is a clear chances of her becoming union minister.
This article is biased n i suggest please do the fact check before criticising some one Hema Malini has spent more than 90% of her MP fund on development of Mathura she’s has even used unused funds of Mps like Rekha n Sachin Tendulkar. Besides she has initiated lot of development works please look at the makeover of Madhura station she is very serious towards her work commitments n doing much better than so called hard core politicians plus her image is clean please follow her on twitter as an MP n on fb she has given Account of her work in last 5yrs just don’t assume things
Don’t know the drinking water situation in Mathura and whether she has promised Kent water for the voters. At night in all commercial break in various channels she can seen endorsing Kent Purifier a clear violation of MCC. When Janata Party was fighting election under wheel symbol, the HUL Wheel Detergent was stopped from air in TV and others medium.
Being an MP, representing two million people, is serious business. Unclear if she is contributing anything more to their well being in Mathura than her husband was in Bikaner.