Why Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan won't help Dravidian parties
If there is one state that has taken Narendra Modi's slogan of Startup India seriously, it is Tamil Nadu. What else can explain the flurry of political start-ups that are getting launched in the Dravidian land.
It is truly party time in Tamil Nadu with AIADMK rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran likely to float a Peravai (front) next week, followed by Kamal Haasan on February 21. Rajinikanth has not announced the launch date of his party yet, but given the intense competition in this sphere, expect the superstar to make a splash soon.
2018 will then be the year of the two-most popular actors in Tamil cinema, indulging in lights, camera, action, both on and off screen. Both Haasan and Rajinikanth have two big releases each lined up in the calendar year and the choice of films is significant.
Rajini's Kaala in particular is likely to position him as some kind of hero of the downtrodden, especially the Dalit community while Haasan's Indian 2, which will go on the floors this year, will see him in the role of an anti-corruption crusader. In that sense, both actors will campaign as much inside the multiplexes as outside it.
Their political plunge will see them criss-crossing Tamil Nadu. The larger-than-life heroes of 70mm will present themselves in flesh and blood, up close and personal at a marketplace near you. Selfie opportunities beckon the fans of Rajini and Haasan by the dozen.
All this is not good news for the two Dravidian parties.
Tamil Nadu has always shown a fascination with greasepaint and while lesser actors have bitten the dust, Rajini and Haasan clearly are in a different league. Unlike a Vijaykanth, they also have the advantage of good timing in a post-Jayalalithaa Tamil Nadu where Karunanidhi also is no longer active in politics. The DMK and the AIADMK can ignore them at their own peril.
But Rajini and Haasan have the potential not to be just politicians with an eye on the next elections, but be the agents of change in Tamil Nadu. What the two actors, in their very different ways, bring to the table is the template of a post-Dravidian era in politics in its present form. While it would be wishful thinking to imagine that the land of Periyar would discard its Dravidian mindset overnight, the people of Tamil Nadu have also realised that the two parties have also systematically injected the virus of corruption into the polity. The message that the two entrants send to the DMK and the AIADMK is that they need to clean up their act.
It is the promise of cleansing that will endear the two to Tamil Nadu. Elections in the southern state for years have been a compromised act. With cash for votes, the MLA or MP also is no longer under any compulsion to deliver on the promises made in the manifesto. It has reduced governance in Tamil Nadu to a farce, with most elected representative then only interested in making more money while in office to buy votes the next time around.
Rajinikanth and Haasan are in party mode at a time when the taint of the RK Nagar by-election is fresh in everyone's mind. A vote in this north Chennai constituency was allegedly bought for Rs 6,000. Which is why when Haasan in his letter asks people to "question mediocrity" and "raise the bar of governance" in the state, it will strike a chord. It is an insult to Tamil Nadu that a price tag has been put on every voter.
Haasan, through his tweets and a column in Tamil magazine, Ananda Vikatan, has given a glimpse into his thought process. He is not afraid to challenge the powerful, calling out the corrupt and provoking people to think. If you take his letter at face value, he is emulating Mahatma Gandhi. His plan to discover Tamil Nadu, starting from his hometown of Ramanathapuram is reminiscent of what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi did after his return from South Africa. Though if you want to take a cynical view, it is indeed also like a drone view cinematic gimmick, designed to elevate Kamal's stature.
Likewise, Rajinikanth too has vowed not to have any truck with the black sheep in politics. If the two actors can indeed walk the talk, a more Swachh Tamil Nadu may well embrace the two interns in politics.