Praises that vanish during polls

Stars seem to forget their unwritten behaviour rules during elections

‘Being nice to everyone’ in the film industry is a mantra that has ruled interactions within the Malayalam film world. Be it in those umpteen mega shows, television interviews and in other public appearances, we get to see stars and other actors praising each other to the hilt.

Even stars who are not known to be that friendly with each other, do not fail in showering such praises. Newcomers also follow this rule in their interviews, by repeating the same stories of how the senior co-stars made them comfortable and taught them the tricks of the trade.

It is only rarely that film-makers or stars have a go at each other, sometimes literally. For instance, that rumoured incident of a young star beating up a film-maker on the sets for some offensive comments. These instances have remained few and far between. It has been a case of ‘all is well’ within the industry, at most times.

But, with a record number of film stars stepping into the electoral arena this time around, this unwritten rule has been broken somewhat. The past week witnessed actors Jagadeesh and K.B. Ganesh Kumar training guns on each other. The two who are contesting against each other at the Pathanapuram Assembly constituency unleashed some unsavoury personal comments. Bheeman Raghu, the third film star contesting in the same constituency, is yet to dive into the muck. It is an uncomfortable situation for their colleagues from the film world. To save themselves from the hypocritical stand of having to voice support for opposing candidates, most of them have chosen to remain silent on the elections. But, some of the contestants have claimed the support of one star or the other by pointing at how they wished them luck.

As the campaign heats up over the next few weeks, we can expect more fireworks from film stars in the real world.

(Reporting by

S.R. Praveen)