Are the days of a film superstar smashing the ‘baddies’ of the political world in an electoral battle—even in the film crazed state of Tamil Nadu—over? And, for that matter, in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which hosted its silver screen idol N.T. Rama Rao as Chief Minister?
Rajinikanth perhaps realised this and cried off just before the proverbial eleventh hour—before the heat and dust of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections began in earnest. Another superstar Kamal Haasan, who stole a march on his tinsel world friend, drew a blank in the 2019 general elections and is gearing up for the Assembly polls. He may not win even a single Assembly seat in the April-May elections, but can create problems for either of the two Dravidian majors battling it out for the top honours.
Kamal Haasan had notched up a four percent vote share in the Lok Sabha polls but is far away from “occupying” the vacuum created by the demise of stalwarts M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa. Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth perhaps missed noticing the fact that the vacuum was promptly filled up—by Chief Minister Edapaddi Palanisami swiftly consolidating his hold on AIADMK and delivering reasonably good governance, and M.K. Stalin strengthening his hold over the DMK party apparatus, and the duo taking forward the Dravidian rivalry.
Kamal Haasan’s political ambitions, when viewed in this context, reveal that he can at best be a vote-splitter rather than a political force that can upset any of the Dravidian majors. Even if he picks up the odd percentage or two over his Lok Sabha vote share in the Assembly elections, his presence could create problems in very closely fought multi-cornered contests. But his strength would not be enough to win seats.
This is the only factor that he brings to the electoral politics of the state, which is picking up heat, with the national party, the BJP, striving hard to enter the state where it has not been able to make a dent in all these years. This is why it has entered into an electoral pact with the AIADMK and is a part of the alliance that will contest the polls together.
Its expectations of Rajinikanth storming in, and later teaming up with the BJP to give it political muscle, were dashed once the superstar opted out, citing health issues. On the other hand, Kamal Haasan still entertains hopes of turning into the X-Factor of 2021 Tamil Nadu polls. But can he don the real-life role that Jayalalithaa played in TN politics, as he seems to think he can?
Amma, as Jayalalithaa was fondly called by her die-hard followers, was a colossal political figure who single-handedly blocked the great Modi wave and prevented it from crossing the Tamil Nadu borders at a time when he swept through many other states in 2014 general elections. She came up the hard way in politics and had a mentor in the great M.G. Ramachandran.
In terms of mass appeal or political acumen, Kamal Haasan is nowhere close to Amma. Besides, the current-day political situation is vastly different from what prevailed when MGR, Karunanidhi, a highly acclaimed scriptwriter, broke onto the political scene in the mid-sixties, or when N.T. Rama Rao emerged in politics from nowhere, took on the oldest party, Congress, and ejected it from power in a space of just nine months.
Cut to more recent times, the experience of Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi has many lessons for the two Tamil film superstars. Chiru, as he is fondly called in Andhra Pradesh, is bigger than Rajinikanth in the Telugu-speaking state and launched his own political party, the Praja Rajyam Party, in 2008, a year before the state was to go to the polls, and was seen working to become the chief minister. But real life being in stark contrast to reel life, he fell with a big thud on the political battlefield, losing in 276 out of the 296 seats he contested. Moreover, he had the ignominy of losing in his own caste-dominated “fiefdom” of Palakollu constituency.
Of the two, Rajinikanth seems to have studied Chiru’s political life more closely, and perhaps chosen to stay away, as politics was much more than stardom.
For the record, in Andhra Pradesh, Chiranjeevi ended up as a mere pawn of the Congress, a party which he later joined. Although, his presence helped Congress leader Y.S. Rajshekhar Reddy win a “lost election” by splitting anti-YSR votes. “Chiranjeevi was just a prop for YSR. It was his shrewd strategy to wean away the anti-incumbency vote going to TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu. Chiranjeevi could win only a handful of seats, but he ensured the defeat of TDP in many constituencies,” said Prof Vageesan Harati, a political science professor at NALSAR, Hyderabad. Chiranjeevi later merged the Praja Rajyam Party and his 18 MLAs with the Congress, and was rewarded with a ministerial berth in the Manmohan Singh government.
“Whether it is Chiranjeevi then, or his brother Pawan Kalyan now, actors like them are nothing but mere talking puppets who can divide votes. They are neither interested nor capable of becoming what they say they want to become—chief minister,” said Bharat Bhushan, a political commentator and author of Telangana, The State of Affairs.
So, when Kamal Haasan announced his entry into politics, people wondered whether he would end up as Chiranjeevi or Pawan Kalyan, who has been a bigger flop so far.
The current-day political situation in Tamil Nadu does not guarantee success in politics for new entrants, and for relative political novices at that. It is true that the AIADMK has been weakened considerably and faces a ten-year anti-incumbency, but now has a stable chief minister, who has proven that he is no pushover. He has also earned a good name while dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and managing matters of general administration.
Prof Ramu Manivannan, formerly of Madras University, believes that the political environment when MGR became the face of the AIADMK and made Jayalalithaa his political successor was vastly different from the situation prevailing today. Also, at that time, cinema used to be a tool of social churn and change. It is not so today. Hence, the appeal of stars in politics is on the wane.”
Even in the case of Vijayakanth, known as Karuppu MGR (Black MGR), he built up a political base with an 8 percent vote bank. He teamed up with Amma and won 29 seats to become the leader of the opposition in the state, relegating even the DMK to third place. But soon in the next elections, he could not win even a single seat as Amma cast him aside.
But even Vijayakanth worked very hard for over five years in politics, before tasting electoral success. “In Vijayakanth’s rise and quick fall, lies a lesson for the superstars,” Prof Manivannan believes.
So, perhaps, Rajinikanth has made the right decision.
Long before Vijayakanth, MGR’s contemporary in films and a star just as big, Shivaji Ganeshan cut a sorry figure and could not win even his own seat. In 1988, Shivaji Ganesan lost in his own constituency of Tiruvaruru.
Kamal Hassan’s attempt at being the voice of social dissent—his support for Jallikattu, tweets against corruption and the alleged misgovernance of the AIADMK government—may not be strong enough to dislodge the powerful DMK. But he may prevent some votes from going to the AIADMK and could help the DMK eventually.
Elections and electoral politics in Tamil Nadu will continue to revolve around Dravidian parties in the foreseeable future and Kamal Haasan may not have any meaningful role in the scheme of things. Even for that minimal role, Kamal Haasan has to work, and work really hard. He has been at it for the past couple of years, but it is clearly not enough.
Kamal Haasan must realise that being a politician is a full-time job which stars like him are not equipped to deal with 24×7. Also, the Tamil Nadu film space is crowded with other heroes, smaller ones, younger, and with their own pockets of influence.
Still seen hosting reality TV shows is not the best preparation for being a successful politician—that is among the most charitable comments from his detractors. In short, the days of film heroes turning successful politicians in Tamil Nadu are over.
Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi is a senior journalist tracking social, economic, and political changes across the country, with emphasis on south India. The views expressed are personal.
In terms of mass appeal or political acumen, Kamal Haasan is nowhere close to Amma. Besides, the current-day political situation is vastly different from what prevailed when MGR, Karunanidhi, a highly acclaimed scriptwriter, broke onto the political scene in the mid-sixties, or when N.T. Rama Rao emerged in politics from nowhere, took on the oldest party, Congress, and ejected it from power in a space of just nine months.