The tinsel world of Tamil politics

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Aristotle spoke about mimesis, or art imitating life, and his idea was disputed by writers who argued it was actually life that imitated art. In Tamil Nadu, at least, that question has been settled without ambiguity. Here, life imitates art, and politics is cinema. Five of its seven chief ministers have emerged from the celluloid world, and as the state elects representatives to its assembly in 2011, it's again a battle between a retired script writer, M Karunanidhi, and a retired heroine, J Jayalalithaa. Arrayed on either side are luminaries from Kodambakkam, Chennai's film-making district, who bring comedy, melodrama, action, and glamour to a swelteringly hot season of campaigning.
There's tragedy, too. Tamil Nadu is caught between two alliances that promise freebies rather than ideology. On offer are mixers and grinders, fans, gold coins, TV sets and cable connections. One candidate, incredibly, is promising a Nano car to every family in his constituency if he wins. If Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa are fighting personal battles, the smaller parties are pursuing caste agendas.
As things stand, neither of the two big all-India parties, the Congress and the BJP, can hope to capture power in Chennai. They are condemned to humiliating adjustments with the Dravidian parties. When prime minister Manmohan Singh visited Chennai last week, he had to forget his clean image and shower praise on DMK's scam-tainted leadership. Such is Delhi's helplessness when it comes to Tamil Nadu's tinsel leaders. If it's Delhi Bores vs Chennai Style Kings, everyone knows who's going to win.
When M G Ramachandran, the most popular of the Tamil movie star-chief ministers, died, 30 fans committed suicide. Political parties are banking on the Tamil craze for movie stars to work again and win them a government. Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, too, is willing to trust its destiny in the hands of blockbuster heroes, and has already had an actor-chief minister. The two other southern states, Kerala and Karnataka, have remained sceptical of their film folk, and haven't handed them much political power.
Here's a who's who from this season in Tamil Nadu:
Khushboo: A magazine conducted a poetry writing competition in her praise, and a fan who wrote a eulogy to her plump beauty won, becoming a minor celebrity himself. Khushboo, a Muslim actress from Mumbai who drifted south via Kannada films, speaks flawless Tamil, and is now married to director Sundar. The Tamils built her a temple in Tiruchirapally, but razed it when she urged educated men, on a TV show, not to expect virgin brides. The 41-year-old was saying good things about the Congress, but just before this election, jumped on to the DMK bandwagon. She is drawing huge crowds, and it's possible fans are thronging to catch her bewitching smile, and not so much to support Kalaignar and sons.
Vijay: The 36-year-old hero of youth romances is backing Jayalalithaa's AIADMK. Son of film producer and director S A Chandrasekhar, he had acted in child roles before he got to play hero in a 1992 courtroom drama. Fans of Vijay are organised under Ilaya Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (Youth Leader Vijay People's Movement). Two years ago, there was talk that he would join the Congress. Vijay hasn't formally joined any party, nor is he a candidate. He is expected to garner youth votes for the AIADMK, but he hasn't really been as active as the alliance would like him to be. His dad is going around, though, and making impassioned speeches for Amma.
Vijayakanth: This stocky 59-year-old is no matinee idol any more, but his value in politics comes from the sway he enjoys over a big chunk of voters in the Madurai region, considered a stronghold of Karunanidhi's problem son M K Alagiri. Called Captain (after his 100th film Captain Prabhakaran), Vijayakanth is already an MLA representing Virudhachalam. After talking to many parties, he decided to throw his weight behind Jayalalithaa. His party, the DMDK, came into existence in 2005. The AIADMK-led alliance is giving MDMK 41 seats, and if all goes well, Vijayakanth could turn out a major force in Tamil Nadu politics. If he can control his drinking, and stop beating up his party workers, that is.
Sharath Kumar: This villain-turned-hero is in the fray as an AIADMK-supported candidate this time. He was earlier a supporter of the DMK, and had even represented that party in the Rajya Sabha. As president of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association, he is capable of rallying Tamil Nadu's glitteratti around causes he finds dear. He was earlier married to actress Chaya, from whom he has two daughters. His present wife Radhikaa started out as a sensitive movie actress; she has now switched to the more lucrative business of producing and acting in TV soaps. Sharath Kumar founded the Akila India Samatuva Makkal Katchi in 2007, promising to bring back the 'golden age' of Kamaraj to Tamil Nadu. His relationship with the AIADMK has fluctuated from good to indifferent to bad, but he now enjoys Jayalalithaa's trust as an ally.
Vadivelu: His comedy is slapstick, and he usually gets thrashed to pulp at the end of every 'funny' sequence. Yet, Vadivelu has been unbeatable as a campaigner. Among all movie stars out there this time, Vadivelu has performed the best, getting his election audiences to cheer him spontaneously. He is rooting for the DMK, and it helps that some of his rivals in the movie industry, such as Vijayakanth, are on the other side of the fence. Vadivelu began life as an office boy at a studio, and rose to fame as more and more luminaries in the industry, such as Kamala Hasan, gave him roles in their films.
Napolean: Now social justice minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet, Napolean has acted in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Born Kumaresan Duraisamy, he adopted the name of Napolean when he entered show business. Napolean has been a DMK loyalist, and won his first election in 2001. The 47-year-old isn't in the same league as Vijayakanth or Vijay; in fact, he believes his claim to fame comes more from his work as an entrepreneur than as an actor. He set up Jeevan Technologies in 2000, and now employs 800 people in India, New Zealand, and the USA. His company works in the information technology sector. Napolean has recently formed an academy to train young people in IT industry skills.
Seeman: This actor and director is upfront about his support for the LTTE. He has often spoken in favor of slain guerilla chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. Seeman's agenda is simple: he loves Tamil and he hates the Sri Lanka government. By extension, he also hates the Congress, which he believes hasn't done enough to protect Tamil interests in Sri Lanka. His organization Naam Tamizhar Iyakkam turned into a political party in 2010, and is campaigning against the Congress in several constituencies. Seeman may achieve little else, but he can dent the prospects of the Congress.