The phenomenal impact cine stars have had on Indian politics, more particularly South Indian politics has always been a matter of wonder to the informed observer and has already been the subject of many studies. These studies have so far tended to look at the phenomenon from the social or political perspective. While these provide good insights into the rise and impact of star politicians in the southern States, a newer and probably a more complete perspective emerges when these are viewed and understood as historical events. This is the thrust of the logic and reasoning and the extensively researched arguments presented in the somewhat baldly titled, “Cine Politics — Film Stars and Political existence in South India” by M. Madhava Prasad.
The book starts with post independence India where the federal structure of the newly formed State failed to meet the legitimate aspirations of the many “nations” that made it up. The setting up of the State Re-organisation Commission in 1953 and the delineation of new States along linguistic lines provided an administrative demarcation but because of the dominating role of the Central Government, failed to really meet the aspirations in any substantial way. This left a leadership vacuum in regional pockets.
The book not only traces the political developments in a highly sophisticated framework but also presents the way the cinema as an industry evolved over this period. In fact the author traces the development and status of the cine industry in fair detail in three of the southern States that have exemplified the star politician phenomenon. While actors across the world, including Hollywood, forayed successfully into politics, the emergence of star politicians in the south who went on to make a mark at a ‘federal’ level is unique to the region.
MGR in Tamil Nadu, NTR in Andhra Pradesh and Rajkumar in Karnataka have been stars of the film world and have played very dominant political roles in their respective States. While at first sight the rise of these stars to such pre-eminence may seem similar, there are many differences. A major portion of the book is devoted to studying the evolution of these stars in the backdrop of the political development and social changes.
The book traces the South Indian film Industry from the roots — the studio culture to the different genres to the star-centric films of the later years — to lay the back ground for the study and understanding of the star politician.
MGR was part of political activity even before he achieved stardom. The Justice Party of pre independence India gave way to Dravidar Kazhagam which in turn spawned the DMK. MGR was a prime resource in more ways than one for the emerging DMK which used cinema as a medium for conveying its message of social change. MGR was not the only person from the party in the film industry. C.N. Annadurai, the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was an eminent scriptwriter and so was Karunanidhi. The genre of ‘DMK films’ interestingly deployed the other major star actor of the Tamil screen, Sivaji Ganesan, as well. However it was MGR whose charisma and immense fan following which becomes a major factor — finally becoming larger than the message he was used to carry. While the mandarins of the party would have liked him to remain a resource contributing to their political success, MGR had his own ideas and formed his own party and then his own Government as the CM from 1977 till his death.
The development in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were different to the extent that the moving force in these two States was a national identity. NTR came to the fore on the rhetoric of Telugu language and Telugu nationalism and likewise Rajkumar was identified with the move to protect, preserve and uplift Kannadigas and Kannada interests. These were unifying while the Dravidian logic focussing on the caste layers in Tamil Nadu was divisive.
He also points out that Rajkumar was very much a star politician because of the various initiatives he took — like the Gokak Agitation and the several messages he carried and conveyed through his films emphasising Kannada and Kannadiga identity. It is just that he did not enter the election process of politics. He was always a political force and he knew it.
The main difference between MGR and NTR was that the former was part of a party organisation before becoming a leader in his own right, while the latter entered politics by forming a new party. The author makes several remarkable observations which make the book a very interesting read. For example, stars often did not live the message they conveyed on screen and this did not bother their fans. He also focusses on the fact that early films centred around female characters. During the studio film era, films were made around stories and actors were chosen based on their skills. The concept of star films is a more recent development. It is a well-researched and well annotated book in the essay form which makes for serious reading. The lofty, dry prose deployed demands dedicated reading.
Had the author explored the current day scenario, the book would have made more interesting reading. NTR and MGR have moved on but their political legacies continue to thrive. The author does observe that one reason Jayalaithaa succeeded, despite being a political novice is because “she positioned herself in a place between MGR and the masses, and what is more, closer to the masses than to MGR.” If that is true, can other actors get closer to the masses, directly? The author does not raise such questions, though, and leaves you wondering. In the 2014 general elections, over 40 actors from across India entered the fray, and stars like Aamir Khan are engaging directly with the masses via social activism, and satellite television. One would have liked the author to raise the question whether they are still filling a leadership vacuum, or if cine-politics is rebooting itself in newer ways, answering the need for the politics of representation.
