Political parties are welcoming Tinseltown folk into their fold. A known face can go a long way in drawing crowds and win elections
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; April 28, 2019)

Tinseltown and politics have always had an intrinsic connect. There is nothing like roping in cine idols and popular faces from the entertainment world to draw the crowds and hopefully garner the votes. In the on-going Lok Sabha poll, several actors have tossed their hat into the ring to test their popularity. Last week, Sunny Deol joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Within hours, he was nominated the party's candidate from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Singer Daler Mehndi is the latest to join the party and was welcomed into the fold by leaders singing his track, Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra.

Though it is not a new phenomenon - there have always been actors-turned-politicians - the rush by politicians to get film folk to endorse their respective parties is seen as a one-upmanship game. It is well known that some celebrities endorse it for money, especially those who do not harbour ticket aspirations. Others, for a party position and there are those who do it because they want to test new waters.

Former Bigg Boss contestant and Haryanvi dancer Sapna Choudhary has been campaigning (right) for BJP candidates in New Delhi. She says, "I have not joined the party. I am doing it because my friends are contesting." She considers Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari her pal, so has been part of his roadshows.

Last month, she found herself courting controversy after she found herself being welcomed by both the Congress and BJP into their fold. There was talk that she would get a ticket from Lucknow. "I didn't want to contest or join any party. But when my friends, who are standing for elections call me, I go."

Television producer Saurabh Tewari who has made shows like Zindagi Ke Mehak and Krishna Chali London too joined the BJP because of the friend-in-the-party factor. He is currently taking time off the shoots and has parked himself in Patna to canvas for Ravi Shankar Prasad who is taking on Congress's Shatrughan Sinha. Explains Tiwari, "I know him, this is the reason I joined the party. I am still a newcomer, so this election is like a training ground for me. I am still learning the ropes. I accompaned him to fill the nomination."

Tiwari says may be in the future he will take the electoral plunge but for now, he is happy canvassing for Prasad. "Right now, my production house is set and I can take off to do other things. Earlier, when I was just setting off, there was no time to do anything else."

Another television name who took the political plunge was Shilpa Shinde (left), best remembered as Angoori bhabhi on Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain and winner of Bigg Boss season 11. So far, she has not canvassed for the party but is planning to go to Bhopal to muster support for Digvijaya Singh. "I know his wife [Amrita Rai]. She called me and told me that as I was a popular face, they would like me to the campaign. I consider it an honour that they are aware of me and my work."

Shinde says she was always politically conscious thanks to her father, Satyadev Shinde. "He was a social worker and a die hard Congressman. I have grown up watching him interact with leaders like Sharad Pawar and Sushilkumar Shinde. So you can say, I was exposed to politics."

The actor adds that she did not join the Congress to get a ticket. "I am still new in politics. I do not want things readymade. May be in the future, I may harbour aspirations after I have got a first-hand experiene what elections are all about."

Shinde claims she was offered a ticket to stand from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, but she declined it. "Uttar Pradesh is the hotbed of politics and I did not see myself being a part of it."

Another actor who recently took the political plunge was Isha Koppikar (top image), who joined the BJP. Best remembered as Bollywood's Khallas girl after the chartbuster, she says, "I joined politics because I wanted to serve the country. I liked the transformation and governance in the last five years. I was inspired by the leadership of Narendra Modi. There have many positive changes in terms of the Swaach Bharat campaign, infrastructure and our presence in the global market. I am sure the BJP will continue doing better work if elected again. I am supporting the development of our country."

Koppikar has been appointed the executive chairman of the party's transportation wing. She did not want to contest the election. "I have campaigned for the party in Jalna (below) and Goa," she says. Shinde is now hopeful that she will bag a party post. "We will have to wait till May 23 [the day of the counting of votes] because only then a clear picture will emerge. Right now everyone is busy with the elections."




Sapna Choudhary


TV producer Saurabh Tewari (extreme left) campaigns for Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna

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Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 10, 2015)

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; April 26, 2014)

Are Bollywood actors and films breaking free of the prudish tag? Be it depiction of sex, celebs endorsing condoms or portrayal of homosexuality, stars — and films — today seem to be more open to dealing with bolder subjects than earlier. hitlist examines the phenomenon...

Gay portrayal
Last December, when the Supreme Court passed its judgment on Section 377 re-criminalising homosexuality, it created a lot of furore in the country’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. At the time, many Bollywood celebrities showed their displeasure over the SC’s decision as they chose to back the LGBT community.

What’s interesting is that Btown celebs aren’t just voicing their opinions in support of homosexuality. Filmmakers today are opening up to the idea of dwelling on plots surrounding same- sex love. For instance, last year’s Karan Johar film, Bombay Talkies, showed two leading men lock lips on screen for the first time.

The trend seems to continue this year with many other filmmakers following suit. For one, Hansal Mehta’s untitled film, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is based on the lives of a gay couple. Monica Dogra too has played a lesbian character in the short film, Relapse, that stars swimmer-and-artiste-turned-androgynous-model, Casey Legler.

Apart from these two films, Ekta Kapoor is all set to adapt William Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo Juliet, in Hindi. However, her take will revolve around the love story between two men, Romil and Juggal.

Sexuality not an issue
Clearly, filmmakers are no longer reluctant to deal with supposedly taboo subjects such as homosexuality. Saqib Saleem, who played a young gay journalist in K Jo’s Bombay Talkies and even had a kissing scene with co-star, Randeep Hooda, says, “I don’t think it is a taboo anymore. For an actor, the most important thing is to do as many different characters as possible. A character’s sexuality shouldn’t influence his or her decision to star in the film. At the end of the day, it’s just another role; and our profession is called acting for a reason.”

Filmmaker Danish Aslam chimes in that the industry has accepted bold scenes and films about homosexuality. “Dostana was not exactly based on gay love, but this commercially successful film shed some light on the issue. After all, films hold a mirror to the society; so even as the society undergoes changes, the content in films too will change. Even in the West, legalising gay marriages has not been easy; they too have had just a few films based on the LGBT community,” he says.

Not shying away
Aslam is also hopeful that the younger generation will take up bolder roles now. “No actor dared to do a condom ad until recently, but Ranveer Singh has changed that. Today, a new crop of actors is ready to take on challenges and if a director has a decent story to tell, they won’t reject the role. Where my film is concerned, Ekta is already on board and the script was also ready. Moreover, I didn’t face any difficulties since I am casting rank newcomers in the film,” says the director.

Meanwhile, actress Isha Koppikar, who played a lesbian in the film, Girlfriend, says that playing a homosexual was never a taboo from an actor’s standpoint. “Earlier, the bone of contention was the stereotypical depiction of sex and homosexual characters in an offensive way. But in recent times, films have been portraying such characters in a responsible manner. This is why actors are no longer hesitant to do these roles,” she says.

Obstacle-riddled path
However, Onir, who has directed films such as I Am and My Brother... Nikhil, feels that industry still has a long way to go as far as accepting homosexual characters is concerned. “A lot of directors make short films, but it is not easy to make a full-fledged Bollywood film about the subject (homosexuality). Moreover, these films star and are helmed by the so-called ‘offbeat actors and directors’. Besides, big studios are still not willing to come forward and back projects dealing with such issues,” he says.

Onir points out that even if someone manages to release these films, TV channels don’t show any interest in purchasing their satellite rights. “Actors starring in mainstream cinema go into a panic mode if they realise that their role has homosexual undertones. This is why I have now decided to do films which bear no relation to gay or lesbian issues,” he says.

He reiterates his point by saying that a lot of known actors refused his films earlier as they were not ready to play gays or lesbians. “Actors like Nawaz, Monica Dogra, Irrfan and Sanjay Suri are not your typical Bollywood actors. Not worried about their image, they are ready to experiment. Even when you speak of directors, Hansal and I are not exactly known as purveyors of commercial cinema. Whenever a commercial face tries to do something different, he/she draws flak for it. Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi starred in Fire and they faced a public backlash,” he says.

Monica Dogra agrees with Onir when she says that Bollywood films are not progressive. “Extra-marital affairs and divorce are a reality within the industry now. So while people’s thinking is progressive, the same can’t be said of the films being made in Bollywood. When it comes to our work, the film industry is left wanting.”