Reel versus Real life

It is now reported that actor Paresh Rawal did not get renominated for his Parliament seat. He is not the only one who didn't deserve renomination. Almost all the cine actors and actresses of this outgoing Parliament were flop shows - logging scant attendance and hardly participating in serious debates, not to mention rarely staying connected to folks from their constituencies.

Our reel life heroes who portray a larger than life of themselves on the screen rarely replicate a fraction of their action on real life. Many make a mockery of themselves by giving misstatements, only to regret or retract them later. (It's another matter some deliberately go controversial in order to boost their faltering career or the prospect of their soon to be released movie. Often there is a political undertone acting as precursor, a launching pad towards a future career in politics).

Come election season, scores of movie stars (retired Bureaucrats and Military personnel too), make beeline to join political parties. Barring exceptions like Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna most of them have failed to leave their mark in politics. Amitabh Bachchan, the better known celebrity from the celluloid world had a forgettable political career, resigning midway through his term as an MP from Allahabad. Arguably the most popular Bollywood actor of our time he famously said in his movie SATTE PE SATTA "Saand ko Saand, Our Bhand ko Bhand Bolte Hain" - "Bull is a Bull, a Jester is a Jester". (It is not unusual in India to equate actors as jesters in a derogatory way).

Amitabh's self proclaimed rival in the 80s, the overrated Satrughan Sinha hardly did anything noteworthy as a minister in Vajpayee's government. He has since been sidelined (rightly so), sulking and whining to the hilt. Govinda, when a Congress MP, performed so well that that once he was chased and showered with rotten eggs, tomatoes by his constituents. Swinging hips doesn't necessarily swing voters towards you, but can propel a few vegetables as inswingers.

Dharmendra's repeated dialogues from the iconic movie SHOLAY "GAON BALON MEIN AA GAYA HOON" (Villagers, I have arrived) won him a seat. But histrionics apart he did nothing noteworthy for his fellow villagers. His wife Hema Malini, is known more for her autocratic style than service to her electorates. BJP took Victor Banerjee to his fold couple of decades back in order to set a foothold in Bengal, but he hardly made a dent into the party's fortune. Examples are many. 

In South, especially in Tamil Nadu and Andhra, there is a viscous partition between the movie world and politics, which at times completely vanishes. Actors MGR and NTR had a fair degree of success in politics in their respective states, especially the former who had a demi God status in Tamil Nadu. Many give him credit for initiating the Mid Day Meal Scheme in his state, which was replicated by others - catapulting India's fledgling Literacy rate to a respectable figure. 

However not all from South leave their mark in their newly adopted profession. Many flop like flop movies. Chiranjeevi, the erstwhile Telugu superstar flopped spectacularly in politics, faltered and merged his Telugu Desam party into Congress.

It's said that MGR once warned NTR of entering into politics, saying it is easier to be a Superstar than being a politician. This is important coming from the mouth a person who was so popular in Tamil Nadu that in 1984 he and his party won hands down when he was going through Kidney dialysis in far away New York. 

The other Superstar from his state, a cult figure named Rajnikanth, post plunging into politics still looks confused about of his strategy and future. (Interestingly MGR and Rajnikant, both Deities in Tamil Nadu are not Tamils by origin. MGR was born a Malayali, Rajnikant a Marathi. The former was successful in politics, the later is still in wilderness).

There is a lesson to be learnt here, if history throws some indications. Voters these days can't be taken for granted. Our movie stars often fail to realize the difference between the real life and real life. Politics, like any profession is a performance based business. Though the star status comes with some benefits of doubt, eventually it's a matter of Perform or Perish. Politics is not every body's cup of tea. Stardom can only take you so far.