They were paraded with great fanfare during the recent general elections— film and television stars who were expected to turn the tide in favour of parties they were campaigning for. With the waning of the election spotlight, have they packed up and returned to the arclights? We found out I DO, I DO, I DO: Twenty-eight-year-old Smriti Z. Iraani joined the BJP last November, lost to Kapil Sibal (Congress) from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Better known as Tulsi Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, she’s not retired. This month, she got into the BJP’s national executive and is vice-president of the party’s youth wing in Maharashtra. Will she contest the Assembly elections in Maharashtra? ‘‘I will work damn hard for the campaign.’’ Yes, but will you contest? ‘‘I will work damn hard.’’ But will you contest? ‘‘I will do what the party leadership wants me to do.’’ MISS HER, MISS HER NOT: Miss India 1993 Namrata Shirodkar was among the glamorous faces pulled out of the Congress party’s bag of tricks. Shirodkar says she will campaign again if called to do so. Now, however, she’s looking forward to Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice in August where she plays an Indian version of Jane Austen’s Jane Bennet. GIMME WORK: Poonam Dhillon knows what it takes to cross the floor. She joined the Congress two years back but this February, she did a flip-flop in favour of the BJP. ‘‘I found myself doing nothing in the Congress,’’ she complains. ‘‘I didn’t want to be just a name who is occasionally pulled out for campaigning.’’ Now Dhillon says she hopes ‘‘to find a meaningful role for myself in the party’’. For the moment though, ‘‘It’s time to get back to my regular commitments.’’ Read: shooting for her daily soap Kittie Party on Zee TV, and rehearsing for the play The Perfect Husband which will be performed in Mumbai next week. JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS: Jeetendra is amused that he’s been slotted with the BJP Polls 2004. ‘‘I campaign for friends, irrespective of party,’’ he says. ‘‘In fact, one of the first people I ever campaigned for was Praful Patel (of the NCP).’’ This year, he insists, it’s just a coincidence that his friendships have been restricted to the BJP and JD(U). No, he does not harbour political ambitions. ‘‘I don’t want to be an MLA, I don’t want to be an MP, I don’t want to stand for elections.’’ YUKTA MOOKHEY: Miss World 1999 seems fated for uncertainty in politics and films alike. Now that campaigning for the BJP is over, she’s back to being a struggler in Bollywood — with just one flop to her credit, and we’re not talking about the election.
