Paradigm For Philanthropic Society: Actors turned politicians
“Paradigm for Philanthropic society” – sounds ambiguous, seems enigmatic. The election season has sprung in the political arena of Indian democracy. The recent announcement of candidates took no one by surprise. Well, quite a paradox. I agree. Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t have dared to define democracy if he had any miniscule foresight on democracy being violated openly in India.
What I am trying to get at is – “Why do actors contest elections? Or to rephrase is joining politics the only possible way for Bollywood actors to serve the country? What is the need (or dare I say ‘want’) for actors to do so? I have not got the faintest idea and my brain would resign into a dormant mode if, I start pondering upon it. Nevertheless, it produces an inane effect of caustic wit. I am not just saying these things because I have got nothing better to do. Looking at the history of the Bollywood actors when it comes to contesting elections, it would be apt to say that it has majorly been a disaster. Karl Marx sums it up aptly in his famous quote – “history repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce”.
Recently, Sanjay Dutt riding high on munnabhai idolisation, announced his candidacy from Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh. I do not detest the notion of an actor contesting elections, but the conundrum which pins me down is the moment they start delivering oration to exemplify their cause. Seriously, quit it. Well, Sanjay Dutt was disallowed from running elections in the end.
It’s not the first occasion for an actor to contest election and maintain a self-disciplined tone all the way till the results are out. If the swing is in the favour, a new unexplored journey of verbal attack begins targeting vulnerable individuals. Tersely speaking the coat of social service is worn on the shoulder of an actor, who defies all odds against politicians in a typical bollywood or even the parallel cinema. If the result is unfavourable, which means, our respected actor can always go back to the celluloid, projecting himself as a victim of dirty coated politics.
The actors in bollywood are considered as Demi-Gods and they hold a certain image on screen which they selfishly implement on the masses. As a viewer, I loved watching Amitabh Bachchan’s sturdy image of a good son, doting lover and carrying the burden of nation on his shoulders, to name a few, on the screen. But I was flabbergasted when I found him singing on stage while canvassing for a political party in India. People look up to them as a source of inspiration rather than clowns showing their tomfoolery on a stage in a political rally and begging for votes. And here’s the evidence:
The jokes and humour about politics is not new and it is enjoyed by people gleefully. But relatively speaking, actors have a choice before venturing out in the political rink. Why don’t they question their moral stand? Can’t they just contemplate a bit and come out clean about politics and fighting elections? Or is it just another feather in their hat.
I would like to quote Govinda as an example, star actor of slap-stick comedies lip-syncing songs genuinely pollution to ears. He contested and won the election but after a while was put on the “Most Wanted List”. Perplexed? I guess I didn’t make myself clear. I could tell you but I would rather let you watch and see it for yourself.
One would have imagined that Mr. Govinda was in a recluse state worrying and finding ways of helping people. If the conscience is true to the heart, all one has to do is to do what you want to do rather than polishing the M.P. name stand in the dark corners.
The list is endless and with voting going on we have yet again witnessed Bollywood lining up for their piece of action on this cul-de-sac. The panoramic view of elections stays on with the actor churning out dialogues on the stage to woo the voters. Do the masses come there to seriously put an ear to the party’s ideology or just to catch a glimpse of their star? Well, the brutal truth is the latter. The politicians are completely soaked in guilt of five years and they resort to actors to find the lost charm with their magnetic touch and the masss’ desire to see the star in flesh, flock to the parade grounds. Does any one care for the poor shabby Democracy in the state of India? The question remains unanswered or is it out in the open and everyone is surreptitiously ignoring it.
We have the keys to the doors, and all we do is sit quietly inside our rooms instead of voicing our opinions. Help me gather support for what is just and remember that nothing is impossible. We need to put an end to this façade. Let us start by voting for the candidate’s political credibility as opposed to Bollywood strength.
Tags: Actor Politician, Amitabh Bachchan, Congress, Elections, Govinda, Politician, politics, samajwadi party, Sanjay Dutt
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Think of the sad state of the people of India who vote these actors to power….
Candid.. you just presented one side of the issue. There are a number of actors in south who have proved credible leaders of the masses. NTR,Jaylalitha are the examples.Even from bollywood, Sunil Dutt was a true politician and leader. The points you raised in this article can be applied to people contesting from other professions also.
@candid
I second Gourav, your article focuses on only one side of the issue.
Actors/ Stars are successful mostly in drawing in crowds for rallies. Winning or losing then depends on his/her charisma, connect with the masses, but the same is true for the general politicians as well. That the actors are charismatic and popular already by the nature of their profession cannot be held against them when it comes to their participation in active politics. Their stardom maximum ensures one term but after that, they are on their own and people show them their rightful places on the basis of their work. A Karunanidhi or a Shatrughan Sinha win no more because of their stardom in heydays but their continual political activeness.
As for what happens in the rallies, that my friend is not democracy but entertainment which is ofcourse unfortunate but a necessary evil if i may term it as so.
A line from Sarkar Raj sums it up well
“Hamare desh mein public ko development nahi entertainment chahiye”
Candid, congratulations for such a well-written article. This is indeed a sad truth of our Indian society. Unfortunately, despite of being aware that the plitiocians are using the actors’ popularity to attract votes we fall pray to such stratagems. We should use our right to vote more sensibly and be responsible in choosing the right candidate based on his credibility and not on his hyped illustriousness.
the sad truth … yes… if you ever get a chance watch ‘iruvar’ in tamil… though the movie’s protagonist is a film actor.. the movie actually shows up how the movie artists were sucked in to political world, how they were meant to be taken in for what purpose, and how with time passing on, the lines of responsibility blurred… either due to the change in leader’s vision or with situations…
a very short-sighted write-up :(
My candid quest has started.
Thank you all for sharing your constructive perspective on my write up. I would look forward to getting more of your valuable inputs on my further posts.
the write up is short sighted.it happens in the west also.We have Arnold as a governor.but times are changing brother.See the result of mega star chiranjeevi in the recent elections and other cine actors in A.P.More people would watch his single film than they voted for him….i rest my case