National

Cleft-Stick Penance

A riparian problem makes filmdom's political divide apparent

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Cleft-Stick Penance
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The Cauvery issue has come in handy for the Tamil film world to settle some old scores. Veteran director Bharatiraaja's decision to protest Karnataka's refusal to release the Cauvery water under the banner of Forum for Protection of Tamils began as a counter to the rally that Kannada superstar Rajkumar led in Bangalore to express solidarity with the Karnataka delta farmers. But soon, with Rajnikanth wondering if such a rally had to be held in Neyveli, a town that sources power to parts of Karnataka, and if the demand to stop power supply was valid, there was a vertical split in the Tamil film world. Immediately, the Bharatiraaja-led group pointed to Rajni's Kannada origins and said his heart beats less for the Tamils.

When Rajnikanth was in Delhi trying to meet the prime minister and then meditating in Rishikesh, the Tamil Film Artistes Association and Bhartiraaja's forum had called on chief minister Jayalalitha and sought her blessings for their effort. Official permission was not forthcoming for a rally, but Bharatiraaja (a Thevar) and team went ahead with "arrangements".

Rajnikanth, who does not see eye to eye with the chief minister, obviously did not wish to be part of a delegation that called on Jayalalitha. However, when he returned to Chennai from Delhi he suddenly became articulate. "For those in Karnataka I'm a Tamil, people here call me a Kannadiga. If I escape all this and go to Maharashtra, they call me a Madrasi. Where do I go?" he pleaded with existential angst and asked if protesting in Neyveli would bring water to Tamil Nadu. He announced a fast in Chennai on the same day (October 12). Rajni also used the occasion to hint, yet again, that he had overt political ambitions. "I'll answer my critics during elections," he thundered, leaving many wondering which election he was referring to. Rajni said his critics seem to have "little concern for the 40 lakh Tamils" who lived in Karnataka.

It is believed in political circles here that Rajni's script was written by behind-the-scenes players like P. Chidambaram and Cho Ramaswamy. But what was there for everyone to see was that a major party like the dmk allowed itself to be influenced by Rajni's decision and had no strategy of its own. After initially supporting the Neyveli rally, it decided to back Rajni's fast and asked the dmk-affiliated actors to withdraw from the Bharatiraaja show.

Rajnikanth clearly wields enough political muscle: other than the dmk, the bjp, Congress, Chidambaram's Congress Democratic Front, Dalit Panthers and Pudiya Tamizhagam are supporting his fast.

Meanwhile, Jayalalitha has had little to do or say, and has watched the farce unfold from a box seat.

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