Southern Movie stars are great Politicians

t was 1984 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The state’s chief minister, M G Ramachandran (MGR), was battling for survival at a hospital in Brooklyn in the US. A recorded image of MGR waving out to his fans from the hospital bed was enough to send his fans into a frenzy and the mood went soaring in his favour. He won the elections, got relected and ensured it was the first time a CM was elected to office without participating in a campaign.

N T Rama Rao was a great icon in Andhra Pradesh. He had played the role of Lord Krishna in a number of films and his fans would often perform aartis in theatres when he appeared as Krishna or any of the other gods for that matter. He used this adulation and in real life too, he would dress up like one of the gods and get onto a chariot to the delight of his mesmerised fans. This worked remarkably well during the elections and the crowds welcomed their screen god.

C N Annadurai (Anna), the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was elected to office in 1967. Two years later , in a rather sudden development, he passed away. Immensely popular as a scriptwriter and dialogue writer for Tamil cinema, he was the finest orator of his time. There have been instances when his speeches lasted over four hours to a spellbound audience. Anna’s funeral in Chennai saw an audience of 15 lakh people from across Tamil Nadu. This was unparalleled and the Guinness Book was quick to make a note of it.