From CN Annaduari to J Jayalalitha Tamil Nadu’s five chief ministers were affiliated to the cinema industry. CN Annadurai and M Karunanithi were popular screenwriters before becoming chief minsters whereas MG Ramachandran (MGR), VN Janaki and Jayalalitha were popular actors. No other state in India can boast of this rare distinction. Barring VN Janaki, wife of MGR who served as chief minister for a very short duration following the death of her husband, the other four during their remarkably long tenures in the CM’s office had hugely influenced the state’s policies which in turn had impacted the lives of people.
Having chosen politics as their career Annadurai and Karunanithi had a penchant for writing too. In their writing they emphasised certain political and social causes which are dear to Dravidian ideology. Later they tried their hands at cinema and became successful screenwriters. In fact they made use of the cinema medium to convey their ideological standpoint and influence the masses with the same. Such films turned out to be sort of blockbusters which meant the people acknowledged the issues and ideologies presented in them.
Then the MGR magic unfolded in Tamil cinema arena. MGR had meticulously chiselled his screen characters which usually portrayed an unselfish, indignant young man who supported the poor and the underprivileged and annihilated the wrongdoers. He had a huge fan following and the people in the lower stratum of society formed the major portion of it. MGR’s screen images got registered indelibly in people’s mind and the fictitious characters were taken for the real person. It also seemed that the people saw in him a long awaited saviour.
Karunanithi brought MGR into DMK, but he had to leave the party after Annadurai’s death in 1972 and later floated his own party, AIADMK. With a thumping win in the 1977 state elections he became chief minister and remained in office till his death in December 1987.
Jayalalitha had acted in a number of MGR movies as the female lead and she entered politics with MGR as her mentor. In the political turmoil that followed the death of her mentor she managed to stay afloat. In the years followed, with steely resolve she remained unflinching in the face of adversity and carved a niche of her own in Tamil Nadu politics, which was a male bastion.
There are other actors who had political aspirations and succeeded to some extend in making their mark in Tamil Nadu politics. Vijayakanth’s DMDK with 29 seats in the 2011 assembly elections became the main opposition.
The death of Jayalalitha and an ailing Karunanithi’s withdrawal from active politics have created a kind of political vacuum in Tamil Nadu politics. From thespians Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to young actors like Vijay and Vishal have been openly and discreetly conveying their political ambitions lately. Critics see a motive in these actors’ moves which aims cashing in on their screen popularity to achieve political advancement without any strong ideological backing.
On seeing DMK’s emphasis on cinema the former chief minister K. Kamaraj once commented “How can there be government by actors?’’. But the actors and people affiliated to cinema proved him wrong. The situation is different now and the electorate cannot be tricked by screen images and ‘punch’ dialogues. These actors may have to slug it out to prove themselves in the sticky grounds of politics where one cannot go for retakes.
