Captain146;s knock

Politics is the last resort of the ageing actor. For Vijayakanth, the Jackie Chan of Tamil cinema, there is also the pancake factor.

Politics is the last resort of the ageing actor. For Vijayakanth, the Jackie Chan of Tamil cinema, there is also the pancake factor. His dark complexion and pudgy features have earned him the title of 8216;Black MGR8217;, or Karupu MGR, the once and forever hero of the Tamil screen. He8217;s riding on the coat-tails, or should that be embroidered shawl, of MGR by not only re-working the dialogue to reflect the aspirations of an earlier more sympathetic age, but by using the same vehicle that his mentor used to launch his campaign at Madurai, the heartland of Tamil Nadu politics.

The politics of skin colour, or the finer gradations of complexion, facial features and physical attributes, is never far from the South Indian psyche. No matter what the official line by supporters of the Dravidian movement, their heroes, whether in film or on political posters, are almost always portrayed with pink complexions, red lips, aquiline noses and broad foreheads that underline what may be called the Aryan archetype. As for heroines, not only are there routine references to pastoral products such as milk and cream but to other familiar culinary delights, such as idlies and adais. Describing his first meeting with MGR, his biographer K. Mohandas observes: 8220;He switched on his bewitching smile, with his milk-white teeth matching his rare-wheat complexion. I could feel his charisma hitting me like a ton of bricks.8221;

Vijayakanth was born in Madurai on August 25, 1952. He is not only young by the standards of South Indian actors turned politicians, he also represents a retro-political chic. He has a chance of re-inventing the mould by invoking mentors who are now as much a part of the mythology of South Indian politics as the epic heroes who live so vividly in the minds and hearts of Tamil people in song, dance, drama or their modern equivalents, film, video or TV.

The countryside around Madurai is justifiably picturesque, with fields of fragrant jasmine, lines of women planting paddy, sparkling rivers and blue hills in the distance evoking the memory of the golden age that comes alive in Tamil poetry. It8217;s also the battleground of some of the worst caste and sectarian politics. Politicians, no less than film-makers, have been able to evoke these contrasts.

As Theodore Bhaskaran, a commentator and Tamil film historian reminds us, the person who first recognised the power of the new media of cinema and song through the gramophone record was a lawyer turned nationalist politician named S. Satyamurthi. Though the Congress leaders deplored his choice of using film actors and musicians as a vulgar attempt to win the attention of the masses, Bhaskaran notes that 8220;After his death, artistes from the world of entertainment, now leaderless and directionless, gravitated towards the Dravidian movement, whose leaders offered them recognition and patronage. In fact, many of the leading lights of the movement, including C.N. Annadorai and M. Karunanidhi, were themselves playwrights and often acted in plays. It was they, the Dravidian leaders, bitter political enemies of Satyamurthi, who eventually inherited the force he had assiduously nurtured and used it in their journey to power, creating the phenomenon of the star politician.8221;

As the Dravidian movement itself split into the Karunanidhi-MGR factions, or DMK-AIADMK parties, some of the old Satyamurthi sheen lingered over the MGR persona. That is, if at all one can claim that ideology can ever play a part in an actor8217;s interest in donning a role. MGR, the people8217;s hero with the heart and soul of a prince, set the tone for a leader who looked beyond the boundaries of Tamil Nadu to a more universal point of view.

This is now the position adapted by Vijayakanth. He is addressed as 8216;Captain8217;, a reprise of the role of Captain Prabhakaran he enacted in his 100th film. He is also referred to as 8216;Telungan8217; or a person from a Telugu background; his supporters are seen to be part of the Telugu-speaking population in Tamil Nadu. This has given him an edge when he lectures against 8216;rampant casteism and communalism8217; in the country.

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For the rest, his political agenda is along the usual lines of providing water, electricity, shelter to the poorer sections, assuring 33 per cent reservations for women, incentives for industry, linking of rivers and, significantly, allowing people to learn all languages. It8217;s interesting to note that Rajnikant, who has the greater charisma as an actor, has more or less drowned his political aspirations in the Cauvery waters debate, only because he was born in Karnataka.

In one of the most popular film sequences that is shown over and over again, Vijayakanth walks into the line of fire. The bullet moves from the pistol of the policeman in a straight line. It8217;s a direct hit on the heart, but instead of piercing it, the bullet ricochets off Vijayakanth8217;s chest and kills the policeman.

As Vijayakanth strides into position as the swing factor in Tamil politics, it will be interesting to watch whether he will be seen as the new MGR, or just another Telugu actor.

The writer is a Chennai-based critic geetadocvsnl.com