Edge of the seat thriller
Political parties are getting the heat treatment here not only because the mercury has climbed to 41 degrees but also because their fates will be decided on May 13, when the ballot boxes are opened. The suspense which has heightened by the wait has been the worst part of this election.
“I have been reminded of the tension I went through while waiting for my university results many years ago,” a seasoned politician admitted about the four weeks he was forced to mark time. A Congress MLA confessed, “It has been weeks since I’ve been able to sleep in peace. Recently I have even been dreaming that I lost the elections.” Many have been visiting temples and even conducting yagams hoping for divine intervention.
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CM Karunanidhi is perhaps worse off because of his current predicament with daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi being named as an accused in the second charge-sheet filed by the CBI before the Supreme Court which is monitoring the 2G scam. Will she be arrested on May 14, is the trepidation that dogs him. His bête noire Jayalalitha is sitting pretty because most polls have given her alliance the edge. She has also been buoyed because a believer like her has been given a leg up by astrologers. T R M Kutty (whose father reportedly predicted the Bhuj earthquake a year before it happened) says, “Amma will win”. His reasoning? “It’s a good time for her. In the last few years her life was influenced by Shani and Rahu. Now Guru is reigning over her stars.” He also says that Shani has exited Jayalalitha’s house and sought refuge in Karunanidhi’s. Therefore not only is Karunanidhi’s political career in jeopardy, so is his personal life. So, the stars apparently don’t bode well for Kanimozhi on May 14 and she might join former telecom minister A Raja in Tihar jail.
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And for all those doubting Thomases who say Jayalalitha’s alliance with DMDK’s Vijayakanth will not last, Kutty begs to differ. He says, “They share their lucky number three. There may be some minor glitches, but the alliance will continue.”
Politics, films, education...
Industries call it diversifying when they have a finger in different pies. The Karunanidhi clan apparently is diversifying too. News is that the AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) has given its preliminary nod to “Dhaya College of Engineering” proposed by the MK Azhagiri Educational Trust. Yes, that’s right, union minister Azhagiri, son of CM Karunanidhi, has floated a trust that will set up a college. There were 83 applicants of which 10 have passed scrutiny of land and building requirements. The college is going to be named after Azhagiri’s son, Dhayanidhi who is already a producer heading Cloud Nine Movies, which has so far produced two movies and distributed 8 others.
Cloud Nine Movies was set up in 2008 by him and his US-based brother-in-law Vivek Rathinavel. Dayanidhi married Vivek’s sister, Anusha, a Chennai-based lawyer on November 18, 2010 at a wedding whose guests included the who’s who of Kollywood, the UPA cabinet and other politicians. So, with that kind of clout, is it a surprise that “Dhaya College of Engineering” was given the preliminary nod?
According to Mannar Jawahar, Anna University vice-chancellor and Chairman AICTE southern Region, “The expert committee will now visit their campus during May and submit a report. The regional committee will then take a decision.” So will it be a surprise if one more engineering college comes up in Azhagiri’s backyard?
But Azhagiri, who had several run-ins with the Election Commission, should wait for the results and see what happens. Word is that Amma is armed with a list of all DMK politicians who have grabbed land and anyone who knows her “bold” actions as CM, knows that the list is going to turn into a weapon and it’s no secret that Azhagiri will top her to-do agenda.
Ultimate star
Actor Ajith’s ultimate (in an industry where every hero gets a moniker from fans, his is “ultimate star”) goal seems very clear on why he is in Kollywood. To act, says the actor, who is currently acting in his 50th film, and not to use Kollywood as a launch pad for politics. He got into trouble last year for saying so (“please let the cinema industry be just that”) and invited the ire of the CM, the film fraternity some of who are in the forefront of protests for Sri Lankan Tamils, in support of Hoganekal dam, etc, and miscreants who vented their feelings by stoning his car. It’s only after he went and met the CM and did due diligence that the episode blew over.
Now he’s back on the news – he celebrated his 40th birthday on May 1 – because he has decided to disband all his fan clubs (they are believed to number 40,000) and the reason is that against his professed desire to keep them apolitical they are involved in politics. The actor, who decided to drop the “ultimate star” tag recently was annoyed that during the recent assembly election, his fan clubs —despite his expressly warning the clubs that he would close them if he found them being involved in politics —went ahead and took sides. He has made it clear that while he appreciated the work of his fans through these clubs, what he could not digest is that political parties were using them for their vested interests.
Now he’s been asked to rethink this drastic decision. But genuine fans appreciate what he’s done. Posters lauding him have come up in Madurai. ”Thalaiva, ennaku Padaviyum Vendam, Iyakkam Vendam, Ungal Idayathil, Idam Mattam Podum.”(Oh leader, I don’t want any post, just a place in your heart.”
The fan clubs agenda
Ajith is not the first star in this state who finds fans clubs trying to exploit him. Superstar Rajnikanth frequently runs up against his fan clubs who have been egging him on to join politics for many years. Last year, some clubs, out of sheer frustration, pronounced that Rajnikanth was “confused”. Incidentally, soon after the election on April 13, posters came up in Madurai demanding that he join politics. With Rajnikanth, being just discharged from hospital after a second stint for extreme exhaustion and a stomach bug, politics must be far from his mind.
For stars like MGR and Vijayakanth, and even Vijay who has political aspirations, fan clubs give them instant cadre that can be converted into political parties. Incidentally, some of Vijay’s fan clubs were annoyed that the star decided to back the AIADMK. But Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan and Ajith want to stick to cinema. In fact unlike even Rajnikanth who always qualifies his quote that he is not for politics “for now”, Ajith is cut and dried. When he says no to politics, he means no. In fact, his first love is car racing and even last year he participated, after a six year sabbatical, in the FIA Formula Two Championships
Rajnikanth is blatantly used by parties. One example was the succession of candidates that made a beeline to his residence on the eve of the election, cutting across party lines. Even BJP president Nitin Gadkari made sure everyone knew here how he had rescued Rajnikanth and his family from the stands at the Wankhede stadium when they were mobbed after the World Cup final. When he came to Chennai recently, he got in touch with the star. Even CM Karunanidhi made a much-publicised visit to Isabel hospital last week when Rajnikanth was admitted for a few hours because of exhaustion and a stomach bug. That’s the importance of being Rajni.
Incidentally, soon after the election, the poster city of Tamil Nadu, Madurai, found Rajni fans had gone around the city putting up flexi banners more than 20 ft tall. One said: “You are fit to rule the White House, so why are you hesitating to rule the secretariat.” Another by a fan, R Shankaran, said he was fed up of voting for other political parties because he had no option. “We know our superstar has something on his mind. It would be better if he told us what to do. We can become the biggest political force in Tamil Nadu.” And yet another by the name of P Velu said it was time for Rajni to step into politics and clean up the system. “We will win hands down,”' he said.
In the case of Ajith, he is not wooed in such a high profile manner but his popularity as an action star is exploited which he found out. Says Madurai-based Kumaravel who has been affiliated to various fan clubs, “In the 80s and 90s, genuine fans used to spend money from their pockets to put up cut-outs of his hero. They also used to feed the poor on the release day of a film and generate a big opening for the star. Today, professional politicians have hijacked fan clubs and are using it to make money and cultivate vote banks.” Beer abhsekhams, milk abhisekhams of movie hoardings on the day of release is part of the game here. And fan clubs are behind it. But today’s fan clubs want the limelight and being acolytes of stars is the leverage they use.
