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Chiranjeevi Enters Politics, Promises Change
Aaman Lamba
The Obama spirit has many adherents. Telugu film star announced his much-awaited entry into politics on Sunday in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, promising change and that he would fill the power vacuum in state politics. He asserted he had no enemies in politics. His new party's agenda and name would be announced at a plenary meeting on the 26th of August in Tirupati. The date was chosen to coincide with Mother Teresa's birth anniversary.
Film stars in India have often chosen politics after attaining stardom, or rather, post their creative peak. Tamil Nadu is particularly prone to giving their celluloid heroes a chance at the political hustings, with M G Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa having garnered much political capital out of their earlier careers. The trend is more pronounced in the southern states, and Bollywood stars-turned-politicians have been perceived more as dilettantes in the political scene.
the other political groupings in Andhra Pradesh have been attempting to counter the potential threat in next year's elections from an expected shift towards Chiranjeevi's new party. While the Telugu Desam Party might claim the legacy of the late NT Rama Rao, they are covering their bases by inducting NTR's family members like Hari Krishna, Bala Krishna, and Taraka Ram - themselves film stars. The Congress (I) has enrolled Rajshekar and his wife, Jeevitha, who are film stars.
Chiranjeevi plans to include his own family members in his party. He is still active in films, although not as much as before. In his recent film, Stalin, he plays the eponymous Stalin, in this case an ex-army officer who wants to overcome the apathy prevalent in society by rendering unconditional support to any and all. He retains the adulation of a wide spectrum of fans, and received the Padma Bhushan award in 2006, following which Amitabh Bachchan termed him the 'King of Indian Cinema'. The role of fan clubs has long been recognized as a critical factor in the rise of film star-politicians. Political parties have also funded films that project their agendas and highlight favorable stars. It will be interesting to see if Chiranjeevi will be able to mediate his celebrity status to political success.
Chiranjeevi Enters Politics, Promises Change
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Temple Stark
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August 17, 2008
02:39 PM
Hmmm, it seems this epitomizes the Schwarzenegger spirit or the Reagan, Franken, Eastwood or even the Jones spirit (the latter after Ben Jones who played Cooter in the Dukes of Hazzard and is still playing Georgia Congressman).
"Change" as a rallying cry is older than dirt, which is to say not quite as old as John McCain (http://www.instantrimshot.com).
With Bollywood being such an integral part of India, I'm surprised this doesn't happen even more. Perhaps Indians really can separate fact from fiction better???
Aaman
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August 17, 2008
09:09 PM
T, fair point. btw, Chiranjeevi is not from Bollywood - the indian film industry is far larger than Bollywood, which properly refers only to the Bombay film industry. Chiranjeevi is from the Hyderabad scene.
commonsense
August 17, 2008
09:52 PM
actually, movie stars turned politicians in india pre-dates reagan and schwarzenneger by a few decades...MGR etc.
temporal
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August 18, 2008
11:55 AM
aaman:
you mentioned obama spirit in passing...am not familiar with this fellow...how would he bring change?
thedailypheesh
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August 19, 2008
07:07 AM
Chiranjeevi' entry into politics has had one of the most agonizing and annoying wait-times in recent history( He has been on the verge of launching the party for almost a year). It is mainly due to the fact that several vital and very sensitive issues(which like most vital and very sensitive issues are difficult to solve without hurting sentiments) have spiraled into major challenges to any new political force.
The true test will come once he declares his stand on some of these which is why it is almost impossible to be an Obama in India :)
cheers
thedailypheesh
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