TN POLITICS AND MATINEE IDOLS
The change in the ruling party from Indian National Congress to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK for short) happened thanks to the meticulous planning and execution to perfection through a very popular medium cinema. The DMK boasted of two of the most charismatic actors of those days in their ranks. The founder of the party CN Annadurai was also involved in cinema through his script writing. His deputy in the party and later Chief Minister M Karunanithi wrote dialogues for the movie in which the legendary actor Shivaji Ganesan acted for the first time. The dialogues were more aimed towards the political scenario existing then than on the development of the story line in the movie. Likewise the movies with the other legendary actor M G Ramachandran (MGR for short) were scripted to send a message to the masses that the political scenario in the state had been not helping the poor but further enriching the rich. The dialogues and script of the movies were aimed at the poorest of the poor to capture their imagination that a change in the ruling party will change their livelyhood for better. Thus in the general election of 1967 the Indian National Congress was routed and the DMK came to power in the state of Tamilnadu then known as Madras.
From the first chief minister of DMK to the later day chief ministers every one had the gift of gab and were wonderful orators. It was said that when CN Annadurai spoke in a public meeting people used to listen with open mouth to the not so fruitful speeches. If the listener analysed the speech later he might have found that there was no substance in the speech except rhetoric. But the attendees of these meetings did not bother analysing the speeches but got carried away by the flowery language and oratorical skill of the speaker. The cinema medium also was making onslaught on the psyche of the population. A mob hysteria was developed which was carefully nurtured as a tool to dislodge the previous party in power.
The first DMK CM was followed by the next person with even stronger roots in the film world. He was a known script writer for movies with flowery language and also a successful dialogue writer. MGR was a hero in the films which depicted him as a saviour of poor and hapless persons. The characterization of his persona in the movies was carefully crafted to portray that the hero stood against the atrocities of the rich and affluent. This portrayal of his characters in the movies also helped the DMK to a large extent in wresting power from the Congress and become a strong party in power which could not be challenged politically or socially for the next decade. The ten year period from 1967 to 1977 saw the consolidation of power by DMK despite lots of allegations of corruption against the chief minister and some of his ministerial colleagues.
The split in the ruling DMK with the parting of ways of MGR and Karunanithi need no recounting here. But the process started in 1972 and in the year 1977 MGR became the CM with his party Anna Dravida Munntera Kazhagam (ADMK) winning popular mandate with majority to form the government. He ruled with his usual aplomb and was a winning figure for the next almost ten years till his death in 1987. The voters in the state did not vote for development but got carried away by the charisma of the leader who was a matinee idol in the films. MGR won the election even while he was in hospital in USA. The photos from his hospital bed in USA were extensively used during the campaign and canvassing for votes. The sympathy wave proved too much for the DMK and they could not muster enough seats against the onslaught of the charisma of the matinee idol. The DMK patriarch Karnunaithi even went a step further to seek the forgiveness of the people telling them was it not enough punishment that he and his party banished for so long a time from being a ruling party.
The demise of MGR brought in another actor VN Janaki to the forefront and a split in the ADMK. A majority of the people stayed with Janaki and not many supported J Jayalalitha. But the ministry of Janaki was short lived and paved the way for one more election. There was President's rule from January 1988 to January 1989. Then DMK cobbled up enough numbers in the election held in 1989 and formed the government. But the government was dismissed and the assembly dissolved in 1991. In the meanwhile the two factions of the ADMK under VN Janaki and J Jayalalitha came together under J Jayalalitha. In the election held in 1991 J Jayalalitha another popular actor came to be elected as the leader of the majority party to stake claim to form the government.
In the election held in 1996, the popular mandate was against the ruling ADMK mainly due to the extra constitutional acts of the close aide of Jayalalitha. This brought the DMK back to the government and since then both Karunanithi and Jayalalitha had been exchanging the Chief Minister's chair except for brief periods when Jayalalitha was found guilty in a court case and punished. The hold of the cinema heroes and heroines on the electorate in the state had been so absolute that every popular actor in the Tamil film world wants to join the political field. Some of the popular actors even floated a separate political outfit to contest elections in support of the ruling party.
Rajani Kanth a popular actor who had earned a name for himself with style, panache and his style of dialogue delivery in films had been toying with the idea of floating a separate political party or joining one of the mainstream parties. There was a move to induct him and present him as a candidate for the Chief Ministership to capitalize on his popularity. But the move failed and the DMK was able to romp home to victory. Since then his huge fan following has been expecting him to announce his entry into politics. He also had been keeping their hopes alive by speaking about the political scenario in the state in intervals especially when a new movie of his was about to get released in the theaters.
Kamala Hasan a person born to Brahmin parents who joined the film world even as a young boy went onto become a matinee idol bagging roles which demanded evocation of emotion on the screen. His emotive abilities brought him laurels and made him a very popular actor and though there was no pitting of Kamalahasan against Rajani Kanth, the fans of both the actors were very anxiously awaiting the release of their respective matinee idols. The frenzy took such huge turn that the fans used to pour milk over the huge banners kept in front of the theaters where their films were screened. He had all along been a silent spectator while Rajani Kanth was voicing his opinion on political matters without any hesitation. But the death of Jayallitha in December 2016 brought a change in the political scenario in the state. Even actors who are not that very well known outside the state but having a considerable fan following in the cinema-struck population of the state started developing a fancy for the politics. Some of the recently released films of these actors have a lot of political messages which were the hall mark of days of MGR in his hay days as hero.
Kamal Hassan (who incidentally changed his Hindu sounding Kamala Hasan to Kamal Hassan) proclaims he is a rationalist and not an atheist. He is already on the bandwagon of ridiculing the Hindu beliefs and practices. He had met with the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Bengal. There is a concerted move to float a separate party to fight the election which the political observers feel is imminent. Kamal Hassan as a matinee idol with a huge fan following feels that his charisma will win him enough seats in the assembly to form his government. In tune with the present characteristics of the political leaders in the state he had already started making noises almost in the same vein as other political leaders; HIndu bashing, calling himself a rationalist, wearing black outfits, expecting the voters to be like sheep, getting carried away by the cinematic charisma, to vote en-mass for his party. In a public meeting in which both Rajani Kanth and Kamal Hassan took part, Rajani Kanth took a dig at Kamal Hassan's ambition to join politics advising him that there is something more than just matinee idol popularity among fans to win elections. He also subtly in a satirical tone said that possibly Kamal Hassan is aware of that extra mojo that is required to win elections and rule the state.
If any of the popular matinee idol becomes the next chief minister of the state then the state is doomed to never get out of its cinematic whirlpool. The action oriented films are make believe and the hero emoting the roles in the films may not be able to fill the shoes required of a career politician. The state had already paid a big prize for electing successively people associated with film world or heroes or heroines of film world as chief minsters in the past. Now it is time for the full time grass root politicians to take charge of the state and make some changes to the way the state had been managed in the past almost 50 years.
In a recent survey conducted by a news media jointly with a popular magazine brought out that about 31% of the people surveyed accepted a matinee idol as the CM. About a fifth of those surveyed did not want a matinee idol as the CM. The remaining two options also were not in favour of a matinee idol becoming CM with about another fifth not having any opinion. If this survey is taken as a pointer to the voter's preferences then it is time the state gets out of the deep pit it had dug itself into by successively electing people associated with films.
The people of the state instead of getting a decent employment to earn their living, got everything free in the past ten years with both DMK and ADMK trying to outsmart each other in distribution of freebies to the public. The abolition of prohibition in early 1970s and the state taking over the liquor distribution and retail sales vends under government had brought in even more damage to the social fabric of the state. The cinematic attractions added to that. If the voters elect a person with roots in cinema once again citing his charismatic popularity, to form the government, whatever be the political leanings of the person, the state will alienate itself further from the national mainstream. It is not the writer's contention that the people from film world should not join politics and become head of the government. The film world people especially the actors are highly emotional and get carried away easily with flattery. That was witnessed in the period 1991 to 2016 when Jayalalitha was the Chief Minister in different times and even earlier when MGR and Karunanithi were chief ministers. The development of the state had been sidelined and various populist schemes were implemented which is directly responsible for the state reeling under a heavy debt burden of over 2.50 lakh crores.
The split in the ruling DMK with the parting of ways of MGR and Karunanithi need no recounting here. But the process started in 1972 and in the year 1977 MGR became the CM with his party Anna Dravida Munntera Kazhagam (ADMK) winning popular mandate with majority to form the government. He ruled with his usual aplomb and was a winning figure for the next almost ten years till his death in 1987. The voters in the state did not vote for development but got carried away by the charisma of the leader who was a matinee idol in the films. MGR won the election even while he was in hospital in USA. The photos from his hospital bed in USA were extensively used during the campaign and canvassing for votes. The sympathy wave proved too much for the DMK and they could not muster enough seats against the onslaught of the charisma of the matinee idol. The DMK patriarch Karnunaithi even went a step further to seek the forgiveness of the people telling them was it not enough punishment that he and his party banished for so long a time from being a ruling party.
The demise of MGR brought in another actor VN Janaki to the forefront and a split in the ADMK. A majority of the people stayed with Janaki and not many supported J Jayalalitha. But the ministry of Janaki was short lived and paved the way for one more election. There was President's rule from January 1988 to January 1989. Then DMK cobbled up enough numbers in the election held in 1989 and formed the government. But the government was dismissed and the assembly dissolved in 1991. In the meanwhile the two factions of the ADMK under VN Janaki and J Jayalalitha came together under J Jayalalitha. In the election held in 1991 J Jayalalitha another popular actor came to be elected as the leader of the majority party to stake claim to form the government.
In the election held in 1996, the popular mandate was against the ruling ADMK mainly due to the extra constitutional acts of the close aide of Jayalalitha. This brought the DMK back to the government and since then both Karunanithi and Jayalalitha had been exchanging the Chief Minister's chair except for brief periods when Jayalalitha was found guilty in a court case and punished. The hold of the cinema heroes and heroines on the electorate in the state had been so absolute that every popular actor in the Tamil film world wants to join the political field. Some of the popular actors even floated a separate political outfit to contest elections in support of the ruling party.
Rajani Kanth a popular actor who had earned a name for himself with style, panache and his style of dialogue delivery in films had been toying with the idea of floating a separate political party or joining one of the mainstream parties. There was a move to induct him and present him as a candidate for the Chief Ministership to capitalize on his popularity. But the move failed and the DMK was able to romp home to victory. Since then his huge fan following has been expecting him to announce his entry into politics. He also had been keeping their hopes alive by speaking about the political scenario in the state in intervals especially when a new movie of his was about to get released in the theaters.
Kamala Hasan a person born to Brahmin parents who joined the film world even as a young boy went onto become a matinee idol bagging roles which demanded evocation of emotion on the screen. His emotive abilities brought him laurels and made him a very popular actor and though there was no pitting of Kamalahasan against Rajani Kanth, the fans of both the actors were very anxiously awaiting the release of their respective matinee idols. The frenzy took such huge turn that the fans used to pour milk over the huge banners kept in front of the theaters where their films were screened. He had all along been a silent spectator while Rajani Kanth was voicing his opinion on political matters without any hesitation. But the death of Jayallitha in December 2016 brought a change in the political scenario in the state. Even actors who are not that very well known outside the state but having a considerable fan following in the cinema-struck population of the state started developing a fancy for the politics. Some of the recently released films of these actors have a lot of political messages which were the hall mark of days of MGR in his hay days as hero.
Kamal Hassan (who incidentally changed his Hindu sounding Kamala Hasan to Kamal Hassan) proclaims he is a rationalist and not an atheist. He is already on the bandwagon of ridiculing the Hindu beliefs and practices. He had met with the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Bengal. There is a concerted move to float a separate party to fight the election which the political observers feel is imminent. Kamal Hassan as a matinee idol with a huge fan following feels that his charisma will win him enough seats in the assembly to form his government. In tune with the present characteristics of the political leaders in the state he had already started making noises almost in the same vein as other political leaders; HIndu bashing, calling himself a rationalist, wearing black outfits, expecting the voters to be like sheep, getting carried away by the cinematic charisma, to vote en-mass for his party. In a public meeting in which both Rajani Kanth and Kamal Hassan took part, Rajani Kanth took a dig at Kamal Hassan's ambition to join politics advising him that there is something more than just matinee idol popularity among fans to win elections. He also subtly in a satirical tone said that possibly Kamal Hassan is aware of that extra mojo that is required to win elections and rule the state.
If any of the popular matinee idol becomes the next chief minister of the state then the state is doomed to never get out of its cinematic whirlpool. The action oriented films are make believe and the hero emoting the roles in the films may not be able to fill the shoes required of a career politician. The state had already paid a big prize for electing successively people associated with film world or heroes or heroines of film world as chief minsters in the past. Now it is time for the full time grass root politicians to take charge of the state and make some changes to the way the state had been managed in the past almost 50 years.
In a recent survey conducted by a news media jointly with a popular magazine brought out that about 31% of the people surveyed accepted a matinee idol as the CM. About a fifth of those surveyed did not want a matinee idol as the CM. The remaining two options also were not in favour of a matinee idol becoming CM with about another fifth not having any opinion. If this survey is taken as a pointer to the voter's preferences then it is time the state gets out of the deep pit it had dug itself into by successively electing people associated with films.
The people of the state instead of getting a decent employment to earn their living, got everything free in the past ten years with both DMK and ADMK trying to outsmart each other in distribution of freebies to the public. The abolition of prohibition in early 1970s and the state taking over the liquor distribution and retail sales vends under government had brought in even more damage to the social fabric of the state. The cinematic attractions added to that. If the voters elect a person with roots in cinema once again citing his charismatic popularity, to form the government, whatever be the political leanings of the person, the state will alienate itself further from the national mainstream. It is not the writer's contention that the people from film world should not join politics and become head of the government. The film world people especially the actors are highly emotional and get carried away easily with flattery. That was witnessed in the period 1991 to 2016 when Jayalalitha was the Chief Minister in different times and even earlier when MGR and Karunanithi were chief ministers. The development of the state had been sidelined and various populist schemes were implemented which is directly responsible for the state reeling under a heavy debt burden of over 2.50 lakh crores.
True facts. But no one other than these people not familiar with people. No promising figure appears in the field. That's the major problem. We have to select the person less worse. கூரையில் ஏறி கொள்ளி வைக்கரவன் தான் நல்ல பையன். That's the fact now
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