Hardly Sunny Deol in politics

In a widely circulated letter on Tuesday morning, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Gurdaspur, Punjab and Bollywood actor Sunny Deol announced that he is appointing a ‘representative’ to ‘attend meetings and follow important matters’ in his constituency. Deol, who is just barely a month and a half into politics, has named a Punjabi writer and line producer Gurpreet Singh Palheri as his representative. Naturally, the actor-politician from Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has received flak for his move, with the opponents calling it a ‘betrayal’ of the people who voted him. The move, however, also poses the question, yet again, of how adept the Bollywood celebrities actually are when they enter into politics.

In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the current Minister of Home Affairs and the then Party President of BJP Amit Shah had personally flown down to meet Deol and convince him to run for the elections. Deol, who stands tall in his Punjabi munda demeanour, was probably their only chance of fielding votes in their favour, which otherwise was leaning towards their opposition in that constituency. Although, this isn’t the first time it has happened. In the book of political moves, using a celebrity’s glamour and charisma quotient to influence the voters is an old-age trick. “Of course, glamour always attracts. You see them (celebrities) on the screen and they are unreachable. And suddenly, they are amongst you. You tend to become so overwhelmed. For a person, who is really not connected to movies, it creates a lot of difference,” confirms image consultant Chhaya Momaya. Moreover, the voters tend to see their backgrounds getting amplified in the image of such stalwart celebrities from their region. This explains the success enjoyed by Sunny Deol and Shatrughan Sinha, who personify the collective Punjabi and Bihari pride, respectively.

Although apart from the successes, that’s guaranteed with having a famous face, the real test is played out in the execution of the roles and responsibilities that come along with the illustrious title. With having no prior expertise or interest, and juggling their political duties and professional engagements, they often struggle in politics, and are not able to cope up with the pressures. “I don’t think they have much interest in politics. Look at when Sachin Tendulkar was an MP, his representation in Rajya Sabha or his contribution in the debate was very less. Their representation is presented just as a token. Politics is not a part-time job. You have to be there. You have a responsibility and you have accepted that responsibility,” says political analyst Abhay Deshpande.  The case in point becomes in the short-lived political careers of celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Govinda, Shekhar Suman, Jeetendra, and many others. Political analyst Aditya Dubey also believes that some of them later struggle to gain back the trust of the people. “That when they struggle to get elected for the second term,” he said.

However, some celebrities have enjoyed and continue to enjoy a successful political stint. From NTR, Jayalalitha and most recently Smriti Irani, these celebrities have done what their contemporaries had failed at. Their success formula: Giving their all to their political careers. “Look at Smriti Irani, she also came from Bollywood. She gave her full time to a political career and became a full-time member of the cabinet. If people are ready to sacrifice their work in Bollywood, then they will be successful. Otherwise, they are just coming for the sake of glamour or clout,” opines Deshpande.

Chhaya Momaya: Smriti Irani, worked in a family drama, so immediately people identified with her. And she has that stature, she had that image and it really did her well, because she is a fantastic speaker, and she was able to play her role. She is working towards it, and she rose higher. It’s not like she’s a one time winner, and she disappeared. She has stayed on, and people love her the way she is. It’s not about being a member of BJP. It’s her personality.  Like that Sunny Deol, is a very typical Punjabi, most of them who followed him are ready to have a personality where people identify him to get the message across. Bollywood should be used only if the image is adaptable to the particular region if they are looking at gaining votes. Glamour is not an issue, it's the image – how people identify with you?