TINSEL TOWN’S TRYST WITH POLITICS

Jaipur: The relationship between Bollywood and politics has always been very deep. This is the reason why there have been many such stars, who transitioned from the tinsel town to politics, leaving a significant impact. MG Ramachandran, known as MGR, pioneered this trend, becoming Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister. Telugu superstar NT Rama Rao followed suit, serving as Chief Minister thrice. Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan also dabbled in politics but eventually left. Recently, actor Vijay announced his entry into politics, continuing the trend in Tamil Nadu.

NTR FORMED TELUGU DESAM PARTY

Famous actor of Telugu films, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, also known as NTR, started his film career in 1949 with Telugu film ‘Mana Desam’. He did more than 300 films. Padma Shri awardee NTR founded the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and entered politics. NTR and his party got tremendous success and he became the 10th CM of Andhra Pradesh. Between 1983 and 1994, he became the CM of the state thrice.

BIG B’S SHORT-LIVED POLITICAL CAREER

Hindi cinema megastar Amitabh Bachchan entered politics in 1984 at the behest of Rajiv Gandhi. Amitabh contested the Lok Sabha elections that year from Allahabad LS seat in Uttar Pradesh and won by a huge margin. While Amitabh made his name famous in Hindi cinema, his political career was short lived which he left after just 3 years. After resigning as MP, Amitabh told in 1998, in the talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, “I was never a politician. Entering politics was an emotional decision but politics is not about emotions. I was a newbie and not qualified. I was feeling uncomfortable.”

KAMAL HAASAN’S POOR POLITICAL DEBUT

Kamal Haasan founded Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) in 2018. Despite contesting in two elections, MNM failed to secure any seats in both Lok Sabha and Assembly. In 2019, MNM fielded 37 candidates, none of whom won. In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, MNM contested 180 seats, but most candidates lost their deposits. It also fared poorly in the Puducherry Assembly polls, securing only 15,835 votes despite contesting 22 seats.

SUNIL DUTT, A 5-TIME MP, WHO WON HEARTS

Sunil Dutt, a five-time MP, transitioned from Bollywood to politics, setting an example of a dedicated politician. Known for his public service and direct communication with the people, Dutt began his political career in 1984 and was a five-time MP from the Congress Party.

VINOD KHANNA’S POLITICS

Veteran Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna also worked in many great films in his career. After this he also entered politics and was the MP from Gurdaspur four times. He was also a minister in the Vajpayee government.

SHOTGUN: FROM BJP TO TMC VIA CONGRESS

Actor Shatrughan Sinha spent 28 years in BJP and 3 years in Congress. He served as the Union Minister in the BJP government. However, he joined Congress after being denied BJP ticket in 2019 LS polls. Subsequently, he became an MP from Asansol seat on a Trinamool Congress ticket. Currently, he is a member of TMC.

MGR SUPERSTAR OF SOUTH INDIA

MG Ramachandran or Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran popularly called MGR was born on January 17, 1917 in Sri Lanka but his land of action was India. When MGR, a superstar of South Indian films, entered politics, which elevated his status, with supporters going to extremes upon his death. MGR did his early politics with the DMK party. Later he formed his political party named All India Annadravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 1972. Amidst the dominance of Congress, DMK and Janata Party, AIADMK also contested elections in Tamil Nadu and formed the government. When MGR assumed the chair in 1977, he remained the Chief Minister till 1987, till his death.

RAJINI’S POLITICAL JOURNEY WAS SHORT

South superstar Rajinikanth also joined politics in 2017. He formed Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), but his political journey ended within 26 days. In 2021, he dissolved the party and said that he would not like to return to politics in future. Media reports say Rajinikanth had taken this decision due to poor health.

RAJESH KHANNA COMPETES WITH VETERAN ADVANI

Veteran Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna left an indelible mark in politics. He contested the 1991 LS polls on Congress ticket from New Delhi against BJP veteran LK Advani and gave a formidable challenge. Advani was able to win by a slight margin of about one and a half thousand votes. Khanna had previously been a Congress MP from New Delhi seat in the byelection in 1992 till 1996. Many media reports claimed that after Khanna’s challenge Advani had to leave Delhi and go to Gujarat.

FATHER-SON DUO: DHARMENDRA AND SUNNY DEOL

At 63, Sunny Deol entered politics, winning the MP seat from Punjab’s Gurdaspur constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He defeated Congress MP Sunil Jakhar & AAP’s Peter Masih by significant margin. His father, Dharmendra, was elected MP from Bikaner in 2004.

RAJ BABBAR’S POLITICAL JOURNEY

Raj Babbar transitioned seamlessly from Bollywood to politics. He has been elected to LS thrice and served in Upper House of Parliament twice. He was chief of UP Congress Committee.