Character actors mixed luck on political turf

With the announcement of popular character actors Prakash Raj (who played villain and character roles with ease) and Ali (a sought-after-star comedian) that they would be making a foray into politics and contest the next elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections, it remains to be seen as to how far they would be successful in their endeavor. No doubt, every actor wants to cash in on his popularity by testing his luck in the political waters, whether it is the hero, character artiste, comedian or villain. However, it must be remembered that not all the actors had the same luck, and especially, character artistes, who are not that fortunate like superstars when it comes to rising to dizzy heights in the political arena.

Unlike legendary actors like N T Rama Rao (NTR) and MG Ramachandran (MGR), who succeeded in politics because of their large- than-life personas and became Chief Ministers of their respective states, comedians and character actors had limited success. As a result, only a handful of them could become ministers while others had to be contend being MPs and MLAs. For instance, hero-turned-character actor Krishnam Raju served as a Union Minister and popular comedian Babu Mohan was a cabinet minister in the TDP government in the 1990s, but others like them had no such luck.

Actually, it was popular actor Kongara Jaggaiah who first entered political arena and got elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967 from the Ongole Parliamentary constituency on Congress ticket. After a big gap, renowned actors like Satyanarayana and Kota Srinivasa Rao joined the political bandwagon in the 1990s. However, Satyanarayana could not play a key role in politics when he was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996 since the Lok Sabha was dissolved after one-and-a -half years, thus, forcing the immensely talented actor Satyanarayana to stay away from politics for good. His colleague and comic villain, the late Ravu Gopala Rao, joined the Telugu Desam Party and became a member of the Rajya Sabha.

At the state level, comedian Babu Mohan had the privilege of serving as a Minister. Now, his younger colleague Ali is also reportedly seeking an MLA ticket from the Rajahmundry constituency and ministership as he belongs to the minority community. He would be holding discussions with leaders of TDP, YSRCP and Jana Sena Party and would be contesting the 2019 Assembly elections at any cost. Even comedian and character actor Prithvi has been in the YSRCP camp and is also expected to try his luck at the hustings, if given an opportunity. Irrespective of ‘mixed’ luck, actors aren’t giving up their political dreams.

BY B Srinivas Narayana Rao