Bollywood Turns Political in India Election Season

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2014 Bollywood turns political in India election season etter known for its romantic escapism, Bollywood is there at a time when people are in the frame of mind to The contest is largely between Hindu nationalist releasing a series of political satires during India’s make a very important decision, and at a time when they Narendra Modi of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party Belection season that poke fun at corrupt lawmakers should know that this is all a big spectacle,” Khan said. The (BJP) and Rahul Gandhi of the ruling Congress party, whose and religious tensions. Featuring a goat, a ghost and a dis- results of India’s mammoth general elections are due on father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as puted dead body, three upcoming releases are aimed at May 16, nearly six weeks after the start of voting. prime minister. The film “Youngistaan”, released on March making voters think before they cast their ballots-although 28, tells the story of a young prime minister struggling to none refers directly to real-life candidates. In family enter- balance his personal life with public office after taking on tainer “Bhoothnath Returns”, opened yesterday, the job when his father dies-a character that several Bollywood’s biggest legend Amitabh Bachchan plays a reports have likened to Gandhi’s own. friendly ghost who takes on an evil and corrupt local politi- The lead actor Jackky Bhagnani denies that he is por- cian at the polls. traying the real-life politician-perhaps luckily for Gandhi, The comedy horror film “gives a serious message of vot- given that one critic described the movie as “brain-dead ing through its storyline”, Bachchan told the Press Trust of and largely insufferable”. Bollywood has run up against India news agency. “One vote can bring a sea-change in politicians in the past, with films such as “Aandhi” (Storm) our country and I feel youth should participate in large in 1975, allegedly based on the life of Indira Gandhi, Rahul’s numbers to bring that change,” said the 71-year-old, who grandmother and prime minister at the time. She banned has a history of politically-themed movies. Director Nitesh the film, which only released two years later after her elec- Tiwari told AFP the film is about the virtues of “sacrifice, toral defeat. courage and patriotism”. Political issues have also been satirized in films such as “I hope children think this is how they want the future of the cult 1983 hit “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro” (“Let it be, friends”) their country to be, while adults should think that this is about exposing corruption, and “Peepli Live” in 2010 on the difference they can make to the present. The theme is the topic of farmer suicides. A number of Indian film stars that we can all make a difference,” Tiwari said. Also open- have gone into politics, capitalizing on their vast fan base. ing next month is “Yeh Hai Bakrapur” (“This is Bakrapur”), a One of the top regional politicians contesting this election socio-political satire which explores the complex belief sys- is Jayalalithaa Jayaram, chief minister of Tamil Nadu state tems in rural India through the story of a pet goat who and a former siren of southern Indian cinema, whose party acquires celebrity status in his village and surroundings. was set up by her late on-screen love interest MG Director Janaki Vishwanathan said she consciously Ramachandran. chose to release her film bang in the middle of the world’s In the northern state of Chandigarh, the actresses Kirron biggest elections. “I believe that every decision we make in Kher and Gul Panag are going head-to-head for the BJP our life has a political angle-not only in terms of govern- and the anti-corruption Aam Admi Party respectively. One ment and ministers but also the politics in daily life,” she of Bollywood’s biggest names, Aamir Khan, is the face of a told AFP. “My film explores how the individual benefits campaign to encourage voting-but it seems a number of from the larger politics and vice versa.” “Dekh Tamasha actors will themselves be skipping the polling booths. Dekh” (“Watch the Spectacle”), releasing on April 18, is Voting day in Mumbai, the entertainment capital, clashes based on a true story recounted by a former police com- with a grand Bollywood awards ceremony in the United missioner to director Feroz Abbas Khan, in which a poor States, so the showbiz set are expected to decamp to man is crushed under the weight of a politician’s giant bill- Florida for a long weekend. — AFP board. Battle over body Two groups-one Hindu the other Muslim-subsequently claim the body as their own. The film “was made to go out.

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