Tamil Nadu had a golden opportunity to exit silver screen-based politics, but it seems unlikely with Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth entering the fray.
When Dadasaheb Phalke introduced cinema to India in 1913, he would have never thought that he would be laying a strong political foundation as well. It is an irony, that the first Indian film was named Raja Harishchandra, who is an epitome of truthfulness, honesty and probity in governance. These are rare qualities in both cinema and politics.
There are very few examples of migration from cinema to politics around the world like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But in Tamil Nadu, it is more or less the rule. After Bhaktavatsalam of the Congress, the silver screen was the entry point to politics for Annadurai, Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalitha. Many party functionaries were also foot workers in the cine field.
After the death of Jayalalitha, a huge question hung over Tamil Nadu. Suddenly the two Dravidian parties were left with no new recruits from the cine field. With the closure of the box office to them, the DMK and the AIADMK are bereft of leadership and staring at a certain defeat in the next elections. To add to their troubles, the warring factions of the AIADMK split more times, and much faster, than amoeba. The political vacuum is so pronounced that every silver screen star dreams of occupying the chief minister’s chair.
Politics in Tamil Nadu is all about empty promises, larger-than-life images, personality cult, money, muscle power and huge fan clubs. So, if Kamalahasan (not Kamal Haasan, please) had not entered politics, it would have been a surprise.
The launch of yet another political outfit has come with great fanfare and hype. His pre-launch meetings with the DMK leadership, Communist Chief Minister of Kerala and evergreen hero Rajinikanth gave him enough publicity. The perfect theatrics of OPS after Sasikala staged a coup in AIADMK, brought him to the forefront of the state’s politics, besides earning him tremendous sympathy.
But his shoddy handling of the situation, back-stabbing by some of his own trusted lieutenants and his assembly arithmetic going wrong, put him in a highly disadvantageous position. With the ascent of EPS, and the two factions coming together, the AIADMK was back to square one. This was the time Kamalahasan must have thought of testing the political waters. At one stage he was willing to join hands with Rajinikanth, but it is likely that the latter gave him the cold shoulder.
Rajinikanth’s entry into politics has a long history. Known for his dithering, the “thalaivar”, as he is called, has all the necessary ingredients to emerge as another MGR, a true grassroots leader, in Tamil politics. But MGR had greater advantages. He was at the peak of his popularity when he quit the DMK over differences with Karunanidhi. It was MGR’s films that built the DMK, brick by brick. Every film of MGR’s (Rikshawkaran, Meenava Nanban, Madurai Veeran, etc) was targeted at a particular vote bank and it hit the target. He quit the DMK, and took with him a big chunk of the party and voter base.
Rajinikanth has neither. He will have to depend on his fan following for legwork. Many of the fan clubs are associated with one of the Dravidian parties. Whether they would be willing to desert their respective parties is difficult to predict. Even parties like the Congress and BJP have found it difficult to translate crowds into voters. (Vajpayee used to lament that those who come to listen to his speech don’t vote for him!)
Rajnikanth needs a strong and experienced core team of party managers to run his party’s day-to-day affairs. As of today, only the DMK, and to some extent the BJP, have a cadre. But the BJP does not have a charismatic leader, and DMK stands terribly discredited. The Congress, which had tall leaders like Kamaraj, is nowhere in the reckoning.
In such circumstances, a confused (“A political party is about an ideology. And I don’t think my goals in politics can match the ideology of any party”) Kamalahasan with Arvind Kejriwal by his side looks a total misfit. The Aam Aadmi Party’s poor show in governance in Delhi is no secret. Besides, with a party symbol smacking of Left-leanings and his avowedly “anti-saffron” statements, the Makkal Neethi Maiyam (MNM) is a non-starter.
Tamil Nadu had a golden opportunity to exit silver screen politics once and for all, especially after the death of Jayalaitha. Such leadership could have been provided only by national parties like the Congress and BJP. However, both parties are in disarray in the economically surging southern state. Like Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tremendous appeal in Tamil Nadu. But the party’s apparatus doesn’t seem to stand up to the occasion.
So, it is a long wait for national parties and people of Tamil Nadu, as another episode of star wars unfolds.
The author is security and strategic affairs commentator and former editor of ‘Organiser’.