Blatant support

There’s nothing new in celebrities endorsing government campaigns but nowadays, we see many actors being roped in to support the Modi government.

Undoubtedly, celebrities can effectively attract public attention to various issues. So when they support a particular political party, it gives the latter great mileage. Veteran actor Anupam Kher has always been vocal about supporting the BJP. Both Vivek and Suresh Oberoi are BJP supporters. Vivek had even travelled across the country to campaign for the BJP in earlier elections. Amitabh Bachchan had played a key role in positioning the spotlight on Narendra Modi; now he endorses many of the PM’s programs.

Actor Akshay Kumar is another blatant Modi fan, he has been campaigning for Swachh Bharat. Now even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are talking about keeping India clean and are promoting Modi’s campaign. Madhuri Dixit, too, joins the on-going campaign ‘Sampark Se Samarthan’.

With the elections early next year, celebrities seem to be popping up everywhere endorsing their preferred party candidate, speaking out on issues they deem important. There’s a great fascination with celebrities, and a wide audience looks to them for information on various issues.

But should actors stay out of giving blatant support to political parties?

According to actor Prakash Raj, celebrities live in a bubble and are unaware of the issues faced by the common man. “Any artiste or celebrity associating themselves with any political party in the name of governance should know what they are doing. For instance, those promoting the Swachh Bharat campaign should have the basic common sense that a toilet can’t be made with Rs 12,000. It’s just a game for political mileage. Around 70 per cent of such built-in toilets are dumped in the godowns. You just can’t install a toilet outside your house in front of the whole village. There has to be proper planning. What about the water and sewage facilities? When we know that these are just sugar-coated promises for political mileage, why should we entertain them? Political parties using actors is like throwing bones to dogs,” he argues.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been one of the most prominent faces of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

From being roped in for election campaigns to expressing rather strong views on political issues, Bollywood’s participation in the political sphere is definitely on the rise. “Celebrities are powerful people. They are powerful influencers of public opinion. They must stand up when the nation is under stress. I know it is not easy, particularly these days, but showing courage is never easy. It’s a tough call to stand up and call it as it is,” says Pritish Nandy, former member of Rajya Sabha. “Everyone, and politicians, are human enough to seek and want endorsement. We all like it when people we adore stand up for our idea or cause.

Secondly, Indian celebrities from various walks of life had been closeted for far too long, avoiding politics and controversy. It’s the arrival of the social media that led celebs, especially those from movies and sports, to start airing their views on politics. This is welcome. Indian business folks still live in fear, barring a very rare odd exception, and I hope this can change,” says Sriram Karri, author and political analyst. Celebs help political parties capture the voters’ imagination and are part of this society too, says TPCC official spokesperson M. Krishank. “They have every right to endorse and campaign issues, provided they realise that in politics there are both good and bad, publicity and propaganda. While these demi-gods can be appreciated for good, they have to take responsibility for the bad too. For instance, we saw how Pallavi Joshi was used as a mouthpiece over the Rafael deal and the allegations over it  this was a clear case of taking sides.” 

Why celebs fear to contradict

The problem today is that those in power are not always ready to listen to alternative points of view. That is why celebrities feel vulnerable and fearful of voicing contrarian opinion. Kishore Kumar and Dev Anand were brave enough to speak out against the Emergency. Girish Karnad and Shatrughan Sinha and Prakash Raj are brave enough to talk about what is going wrong today,” adds Pritish Nandy.
However, what’s interesting is that most celebrities tend to align themselves with non-controversial issues like Swachh  Bharat. “The benefit of such celebs is restricted to giving visibility to issues and schemes, policies and ongoing debates. But it is doubtful whether a movie star or a cricketer can affect the voting rend. Visibility, yes; influence, nope,” sums up Sriram.