Kamal Haasan vs Rajinikanth: The clash of the titans

The entry of Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth into the political fray promises to shake up Tamil politics in a way the state has not seen for some time now. Granted, Tamil Nadu has always had a love for politicians from the film world which goes back to the time of the legendary MGR and it was no coincidence that AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa was a cine-star in her own right and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, a well known scriptwriter in South India cinema.

But with the passing away of Jayalalithaa, the state has recently seen non-cine stars come to the fore with incumbent AIADMK chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami all set to complete one year in office. As a result, Palaniswami has made history in Tamil Nadu politics by becoming the first non-cinestar politician to be in the top seat in the past 50 years in the state.

Big change in Tamil politics

The latest move by the two Tamil superstars could change that soon. While Haasan has launched his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam (People’s Justice Centre), Rajinikanth is all set to float his own party soon. Needless to say, both stars have a devoted fan following having dominated Tamil cinema for the past four decades since the post MGR-Sivaji Ganesan era. Haasan is seen as Sivaji Ganesan’s successor while Rajinikanth, with his mass-entertainers, is seen as the inheritor of MGR’s legacy.

After having enjoyed such success in the reel world it was perhaps inevitable that the political foray would come. But still some are left surprised and wonder what the impact is likely to leave on Tamil politics.  “Cinema actors entering politics is not new to Tamil Nadu. But two top actors – Kamal and Rajini – entering or want to enter the politics by launching their own parties without any prior political experience is something new to the state,” said writer and professor Stalin Rajangam.

Haasan versus Rajinikanth

Haasan was the first to announce his political intentions when he spoke on his birthday on November 7 last year. The fact that he was in a hurry to carve out his own political space was clear when he took to social media to criticise the AIADMK government. The move, coming as it did after Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016, surprised everyone. This, followed by what some see as Haasan’s hurried launch to form his own party, suggests that the actor was eager to carve out his own political space before the entry of Rajinikanth.

Despite Haasan’s moves, people close to Rajinikanth do not believe it will work. Rajinikanth’s close associate Tamilaruvi Manian who is the founder president of the political party Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam (GMK) says that Haasan cannot match Rajinikanth’s influence among the people.

“If you want to compare Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan’s popularity, then you should compare the former with MGR and the latter with the late actor Sivaji Ganesan. You know what happened to Sivaji when he entered politics,” Manian said.

Lack of political experience

But despite his admirers there are some too who question just how successful Rajinikanth will be in politics. K Thirunavukkarasu, historian of the Dravidian movement, says that comparisons between Rajinikanth and MGR, as far as political popularity goes, are wrong.      

“Film actors entering politics are unfairly compared with MGR. It is wrong to see MGR as a mere actor, as he had done a lot of political work before he achieved success in the field. MGR had a parallel career in films and politics. He used songs and dialogues in his movies to propagate the ideals of the DMK. He also created an image for himself among the people, projecting himself as a do-gooder and one who helped the poor fight against injustice. He carefully created an image with a political goal,” Thirunavukkarasu said.  He and some others believe that MGR’s formula of championing of the poor teetotaller who maintains a modest distance from his heroines is almost impossible to replicate in terms of political success in the state.

“Even Jayalalithaa cannot be compared to MGR. She merely inherited MGR’s AIADMK after being brought into politics by him in 1982. When Jayalalithaa was introduced into politics by MGR, she was groomed and inducted gradually. She was made party propaganda secretary and later nominated to the Rajya Sabha. She only went on to become chief minister in 1991 after successfully claiming the political legacy of her mentor MGR and his party AIADMK,” said writer and political commentator Arunan.

Rajinikanth too seems to be aware of the pitfalls he and Haasan face in joining politics. During the inauguration of his memorial in the city on October 1 last year, he recalled how he gave advice to Haasan on politics, and most interestingly, cited the example of Sivaji Ganesan. “Sivaji sir started his own political party and lost his own seat in the polls. There is a lesson in it. To emerge successful in politics, it is not only enough to have cinema fame and name. We need something more than (fame) only people know what it is... Haasan knows what it requires to emerge successful in politics but he won’t share it with me. If I had asked him two months ago, maybe he would have told me. Now when I ask him he says ‘come with me, I’ll tell you,’” the superstar said.

Failure of earlier stars in Tamil politics

Ganesan’s failure in the political arena is an apt warning for cine-stars looking to enter politics. He was a DMK member till 1955 when the party expelled him for visiting the Tirupathi temple. He later joined the Congress and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He never used songs and dialogues in his movies to create an image or his political cause. Following differences with the Congress leadership, he founded the Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani (TMM) in February 1988 and contested the 1989 state polls in alliance with the AIADMK faction led by MGR’s wife Janaki Ramachandran. His party and the alliance were roundly defeated. Even he couldn’t win a seat.
 
“Sivaji Ganesan’s case is an apt example of how popularity alone cannot win votes. Political parties founded by actors without any political experience are short-lived,” said DMK’s organising secretary and Rajya Sabha MP RS Bharathi. He cited the example of Tamil actor Vijayakanth who founded the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) which performed well in a couple of elections only to fade out later.

Era of coalitions

But such failures do not seem to have deterred the two superstars. Analysts believe that like MGR, Rajinikanth started using his films in the 1990s to boost his offscreen persona after differences emerged with Jayalalithaa. And with the current state of flux in Tamil politics both Rajinikanth and Haasan seem to feel the opportunity is right.

Commenting on the fallout for Tamil politics, Rajangam said that the actors’ entry would ensure that no single party government would be formed in the near future. “I think that the era of two Dravidian parties forming a single majority government will end. The two actors will play a major role but they are not going to win the elections on their own. So no one will be going to get a majority and coalition governments are likely to be the norm in the future,” he said.