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Tamil cinema had played a vital role in Dravidian politics in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The influence of films on politics had been seen in South India ever since the days of the British Raj when movies were used for anti-British propaganda. Nevertheless, the leaders of Indian National Congress saw the movie media with contempt. It was the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian party, that made utmost use of the movie media for its propaganda. Adversaries of Dravidian parties despised the use of films and screen popularity for its gain, where Congress leaders like K. Kamaraj questioned the possibility of movie stars forming a government. C. N. Annadurai, the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from a Dravidian party, was the forerunner in introducing Dravidian ideologies into movie scripts. Of the movies made by Dravidian politicians Parasakthi (1952) was a turning point, as it was only a huge box office hit, but made radical comments against the social hierarchy set by the caste system and glorified the Dravidian movement. M. Karunanidhi, who currently serves a fifth term as Chief Minister, scripted the screen play for Parasakthi, in which Sivaji Ganesan and S. S. Rajendran, two founding members of the DMK, debuted on screen. Movies made by the DMK party were under severe censorship by the then ruling Congress government. According to Murasoli Maran, a former Union Minister from DMK, the censors would remove parts of the movies, so that the coherence of the screen play is lost, making the movies a box office failure. The script writers used equivocating phrases and words to evade the censorship. Five out of seven chief ministers from the Dravidian parties were actively involved in Tamil cinema either as writers or as actors. Of the actors in the Dravidian parties, M. G. Ramachandran was the most successful, who launched his own Dravidian party after personal differences with leaders of DMK, and rose to power as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu mostly with the help of his movie fans and low level cadres. The legacy of politics in Tamil filmdom still continues, though less than in the 1950s to 1970s.
[edit] Background[edit] Dravidian movementMain article: Dravidian movement See also: Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Dravidian parties Dravidian movement was founded in 1925 by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy (popularly known as Periyar). The movement aimed at achieving a society where backward castes have equal human rights,[1] and encouraging backward castes to have self-respect in the context of a caste based society that considered them to be a lower end of the hierarchy.[2] In Tamil Nadu an array of regional parties, termed as Dravidian parties owe their origin, either directly or indirectly, to the Dravidian movement.[3][4] Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its political rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have been the major players of the Dravidian parties.[5] One of the major statutes of the Dravidian movement was to achieve political changes by means of awareness within the society in everyday life.[6] Thus the movie media was observed as an apt vehicle for such a revolution to be brought about by the Dravidian politicians.[7] [edit] Tamil cinemaSee also: Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, like its other language counterparts in India, is known as a melodramatic entertainment form plotted around twists of fate set in exaggerated locales, and filled with songs and dances.[7] Although a few stars from other southern states have tried to use film popularity as a stepping stone in politics, such as N. T. Rama Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Rajkumar (Karnataka) and Prem Nazir (Kerala), it was in Tamil Nadu that it was more prominent with five of the seven Chief Ministers from Dravidian parties hailing from Tamil film industry.[7][8] In state such as Tamil Nadu, where no single caste is predominant, film stars were considered people with wide acceptability to lead.[7] According to Emeritus Professor K. Sivathamby, the movie halls themselves acted as a symbol of social equality. He states
[edit] Politicizing Tamil cinema
Early Tamil cinema were mainly based on mythological stories, and movies tied around contemporary society started only in 1936.[10] With the end of the era of silent movies in the 1930s many theater personals joined Tamil cinema, and with them brought the ideologies of Gandhian philosophies.[7] Although the Congress party made use of movie stars such as K. B. Sundarambal to appear on political meetings, some Congressmen of that time looked at the movie media with contempt. Tamil Congress leaders like C. Rajagopalachari considered the movie media as source of moral corruption.[10] K. Kamaraj, then president of All India Congress, mocked DMK's desire to get into power in this statement:
[edit] DMK and cinema
The attempts made by some Congress leaders to use the stardom of Tamil cinema, however minimum, were limited since this media remained unaccessible to the rural population (who made the majority).[11] The politicizing of movies by the Congress virtually stopped soon after the Indian Independence in 1947.[7] With the introduction of electricity to rural areas in the 1950s Dravidian politics could cash on movies as major political organ.[11] In post colonial India, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was the first — at the time the only — party to mobilise the advantage of visual movie media.[11] Actors and writers of guerrilla theater, who were inspired by the ideologies of Periyar, brought with them the philosophies of Tamil nationalism and anti-Brahminism to the celluloid media.[10] The movies not alone made direct references to the independent Dravida Nadu that its leader preached for[11] but also at many times displayed the party symbols through the scripted play.[12] Murasoli Maran, former central minister from DMK, considered that the DMK movies reflected the faces of both past (as a rich language and culture of Tamils) and the future (with social justice).[10] The DMK films espoused the Dravidian ideologies through use of lengthy dialogues in its initial movies.[8] Nevertheless, as the party's political aspirations grew, the movies based on Dravidian social reformation themes were replaced with stories that would enhance star popularity.[10] [edit] Censorship in DMK moviesInitial DMK movies were not victimised to censorship since the party was little known with the censors, but as the party gained popularity in mid 1950s censorship became stronger. According to Murasoli Maran one of the techniques followed by the censors was to make sure that the coherence of the movie was lost so that it was a box office failure. At one point DMK, having had been a target of high censorship, had to move back to stage dramas. But the Dramatic Licensing Act brought censorship on dramas and two plays of Karunanidhi were banned.[10] To evade censorship DMK scriptwriters chose to use puns and equivocal phrases. The most commonly used word was Anna which is the word for older brother in Tamil and also was the popular name for DMK chief C. N. Annadurai. When praises were bestowed to the Anna on screen the audience would break into aplause.[10] [edit] Script writers of DMK[edit] C. N. AnnaduraiSee also: C. N. Annadurai
The use of movie media as a major vehicle for propaganda of Dravidian ideologies was first introduced by Annadurai, the founder chief of DMK, through his scripts.[13] Annadurai, during his initial days with Dravidar Kazhagam, was involved as a playwright for dramas which promoted social reforms and non-Brahmin self-respect ideologies. After the formation of DMK, Annadurai, along with E. V. K. Sampath (Periyar's nephew and one of the founders of DMK) and actor K. R. Ramaswamy, staged several plays for the Dravidian ideologies. It was using the money raised through these plays that the DMK party's head office was purchased. In total Annadurai scripted six screen plays.[10] His first movie Nalla Thambi (Good Brother, 1948) which starred N. S. Krishnan promoted cooperative farming and abolition of the zamindari system.[10] His movies such as Velaikari (Servant Maid, 1949) and Orr Iravu carried the hallmarks of propaganda for Dravidian politics.[12] On Velaikari, Annadurai said that the movie
Velaikari made direct references against the suppressive landlords who were traditionally allied with Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi.[7] When DMK won the elections in 1967, Annadurai served as its first Chief Minister until his death in 1969. [edit] KarunanidhiSee also: Karunanidhi
Other major leader from DMK, Karunanidhi's major propaganda was to start with Parasakthi (1952).[12] Parasakthi was a turning point in Tamil cinema, as until then most movies contained up to 55 songs and were mostly based on mythologies.[14] Parasakthi was initially banned, nevertheless when it was finally released in 1952 it emerged as a huge box office hit.[10]
Like that of his political mentor Annadurai, his movies too carried the elements of Dravidian political ideologies such as anti-Brahminism and anti Congress messages.[12] Some of the movies that contained such messages include Panam and Thangarathnam[12] The overall themes of the movies were widow-remarriage, untouchability, self-respect marriages, zamindari abolition and abolition of religious hypocrisy.[10] Moreover until 1949-50 Tamil film dialogues were in Brahminical slang of the Tamil language, whereas Annadurai and Karunanidhi introduced Tamil both void of Sanskrit influence and close to formal language.[10] According to Professor Robert Hardgrave Jr, the popularity of their movie dialogues made both Annadurai and Karunanidhi "stars in their own right."[10] After the death of Annadurai, Karunanidhi assumed the office of the Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu, and with intermediate periods of in and out of power, he currently serves his 5th term as the chief. [edit] Actors from Dravidian parties[edit] K. R. RamaswamyK. R. Ramaswamy was a popular Tamil actor of both stage and screen in the 1940s and 50s. He was one of the founder leaders of the DMK and it was his earnings that financed the newly born poor party. With the talent to both sing and act he was called as a Nadipisai Pulavar (acting and singing poet) by the popular mass. With the improvement of technology in film industry, where playback singing was getting popular, and some personal problems ruined the career of Ramaswamy. Nevertheless, he was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council (upper house of the State) by Annadurai as a recognition of his service to the party.[10] [edit] N. S. KrishnanSee also: N. S. Krishnan  N. S. Krishnan, or NSK as he was popularly known, was a Tamil comedian actor and, as the times then required, a talented singer. He was never officially a member of any Dravidian party, but yet served DMK a great extent. He was the one of the few non-Brahmins at his times to be popular in a Brahmin dominated Tamil film land. His favorite character was to play as a Brahmin buffoon in the movies, which he would enact in DMK meetings. NSK was highly influenced by the ideologies of Periyar and thus sowed the seeds of anti-Brahmanism in his scripts. NSK served the purpose of DMK so much as that the last public gathering Annadurai ever attended was to unveil a statue of NSK at a busy intersession in Chennai.[10] [edit] M. R. RadhaSee also: M. R. Radha M. R. Radha was a stage actor and was popular through his roles as villain on screen. He was an ardent follower of Periyar and was close to most DMK leaders before they split from Dravidiar Kazhagam. Both Annadurai and Karunanidhi had been part of M. R. Radha's troupe at different times and had even acted in his plays.[10] [edit] Sivaji GanesanSee also: Sivaji Ganesan and Parasakthi (1952 film) Sivaji Ganesan is a veteran actor of Tamil cinema. He started his acting career at the age of six and toured with various drama troupes including that of M. R. Radha.[10] The actor himself was christened Shivaji by Periyar E. V. Ramasami after his role portraying the Marata king[15] in a play named Chandra mohan. In Chandra mohan the Marata king triumphs over Brahmins and the role of the villainous Brahmin was played by Annadurai himself.[10] Sivaji Ganesan's debuted into movies in 1952 with Parasakthi that opens with a song that glorifies the Dravidian culture.[11] Sivaji was a Tamil whereas at the time he entered Tamil film industry most other major actors were Telugus.[15] He later became one of the founding members of DMK.[16] Although it was DMK movies that brought Sivaji to limelight he found that the responsibilities that the party threw at him limited his ambitions on screen. The atheistic reputation that his association with DK and DMK acted as a hurdle between him and the religious audience.[10] Realising that DMK was no longer his asset he attacked it as a glamour party[16] and broke the party protocol by his pilgrimage to Tirumala Venkateswara Temple.[10] Moreover, with growing popularity of MGR in the party, Sivaji left DMK and aligned with Tamil Nationalist Party of E. V. K. Sampath.[10] When the Tamil Nationalist Party was dissolved he joined the Congress party[14] Although Congress itself lost in the elections in the 1967, Sivaji's fans kept the party alive.[14] In spite of being an active member of the Congress party, he made sure his movies were free of political references.[10] After differences with the party leaders he launched his own party Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani[14] in 1989[15] but with little success where he himself lost his security deposit in the 1991 assembly election.[14] [edit] S. S. RajendranS. S. Rajendran (or SSR as known popularly) was initially a theater artist like Shivaji who had starred in many plays for Dravidar Kazhagam. He too like Sivaji debuted in Parasakthi. Being one of the most popular stars of Tamil cinema in the 1950s and 60s he raised funds for DMK and acted in movies glorifying the Dravidian ideologies. Nevertheless, his personal problems led him to a fall in film career and with politics. Having spent most of his earnings for the party he found himself in deep financial crisis. His movie career brought another star of DMK, M. G. Ramachandran to cross swords with him, whereas his political ambitions brought Karunanidhi against him. Sensing trouble in all quarters SSR made a highly political movie Thangarathinam, to coincide with the 1967 campaign time, to prove his loyalty to the party. The party won a landslide victory in 1967 general elections, but soon after the elections the animosity between SSR and Karunanidhi depened. SSR complained of threats on his life and eventually left DMK to join Congress along with his old friend Sivaji. But his aspirations as a political stalwart or as a film superstar was overshadowed by M. G. Ramachandran.[10] [edit] M. G. RamachandranSee also: M. G. Ramachandran and AIADMK split from DMK M. G. Ramachandran (or popularly known as MGR) was the foremost star for DMK propaganda during its peak and was politically most successful compared to any film stars in India.[7] MGR had simple beginning in stage plays since his age of six.[10] MGR was first invited by Annadurai to star in one of his movies in 1950s. From then on MGR actively participated in the party's meetings. His films such as Nadodi Mannan (Vagabond King, 1958), Enga Vitu Pillai (Son of our house, 1965), Nam Nadu (Our nation, 1969), Adimai Penn (Slave girl, 1969) and Engal Thangam (Our gold or Our precious, 1970) displayed a stereotypical image of a philanthropic, mundane hero made out of a vagrant who becomes a king.[11] Unlike the other DMK actors, MGR used his screen popularity in social works as well, which included financing the poor, running orphanages and participating in disastor reliefs. MGR movies portrayed him as a friend of the poor and downtrodden.[10] MGR himself commented
MGR always acted as a hero and made sure that he is always portrayed in good light on screen. With the departure of Sivaji Ganesan from DMK, MGRs position within the party grew strong.[7] In contrast to Parasakthi, MGR movies made less reference to social justice but more on contemporary political scenarios.[10] The movies will also include references to Dravida and MGR himself would be clad in red and black (DMK flag colours). With sharp contrast from earlier DMK movies which the overall theme was used for propaganda, in MGR movies the protagonist himself was shown as a representative of the party ideology, who will fight against evil and support the poor.[10] Thus he played roles that were directly relevant to the filmgoers and thus displayed himself as a symbol of fulfilment of their own dreams.[8] MGR, however, made sure that his social image does not get merged with that of DMK, which he gained by independent charities and social works.[7] With his rising popularity with the commonman MGR fell into controversy by referring to K. Kamaraj, the Congress leader, as My leader. With the contreversy looming in the party circle MGR resigned as a Member of Legislative Council. Soon following his resignation the attendance to his then newly released movie dropped with DMK supporters boycotting the movie.[10]
Just before the 1967 general elections MGR was shot by M. R. Radha on personal difference. This incident aided DMK to gain support of sympathising voters behind the party even before the elections.[17] Professor Hardgrave claims that at the time of the shooting incident MGR's popularity was slowly declining and the incident itself help him regain his stature within the mass as well as the party.[10] Whether DMK gained with MGR's popularity or MGR gained popularity with the rise of DMK stays a question of debate.[8][10] Although MGR's charisma could have played a significant role in DMKs success, his popularity costed as much to the party. When the party leaders tried to disband his powers, MGR launched his own party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in 1975), with support of lower caders alone.[18] According to Professor Hardgrave one of the reasons of antipathy between MGR and DMK leadership was Karunanidhi's attempt to bring his son, M. K. Muthu to replace MGR and convert MGR fan clubs into Muthu fan clubs.[10] The fictionalized account of troubled relationship between Karunanidhi and MGR was later portrayed in a Tamil film Iruvar (The Duo) in 1997.[19] When MGR formed his own party, Karunanidhi himself underestimated MGR's popularity and commented on AIADMK as "a successful movie’s 100 day run".[20] However, with the support from his fans and low caders alone, MGR won the 1977 state elections with a landslide victory and continued to rule the state until his death.[7][10] [edit] J. JayalalithaSee also: J. Jayalalitha Jayalalitha was the last main leading lady to pair with MGR on screen.[7] She was inducted into AIADMK by MGR himself and frequently accompanied him through his party rallies until MGR left for United States for medical treatment in 1984.[7] However, after his return, MGR was always accompanied by his wife for forty years, Janaki Ramachandran until his death in 1987.[7] Soon after MGR's death, AIADMK was split between his widowed wife Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalitha.[21] Although both the factions had lost the elections, Jayalalitha's AIADMK won 27 seats when compared to just 1 won by Janaki's. Following the election defeat, Janaki retired from active politics and the two party factions rejoined again.[21] Although a successful film star of the yesteryears, according to Professor Sara Dickey, Jayalalitha's popularity in politics comes from MGR rather than her own success on screen.[7] She served two terms as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (1991 – 1996 & 2001 – 2006). [edit] Later yearsIn post MGR years, political reference in Tamil cinema had been less sporadic.[7] Rajinikanth, one of the highest paid actors in India, supported the DMK and its ally Tamil Maanila Congress in the 1996 elections.[22] His movie Muthu (1995) makes indirect reference to the then AIADMK head and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha.[23] His movies such as Mannan and Padayappa had characters which were politically identified with Jayalalitha.[24] He later moved his alegance to the Bharathiya Janata Party in 2004 Parliament Lok Sabha elections. Rajinikanth is no longer active in politics. Another leading actor of Tamil film land Kamal Hassan is a well known follower of Periyar.[25] Two recent film stars have launched their own parties. Of them Vijaya T. Rajendran was well known supporter of DMK for a long time, although he did not incorporate its ideas into the movies.[7] After a personal feud with the DMK leadership he launched his own party All India Latchiya Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in 2004.[26] The other Tamil film star being Vijayakanth who had earlier converted his fan clubs into social service organisations, initially as typical, Dravidian, for-the-Tamils.[27] His party, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is now placing itself as an alternative to main-stream Dravidian parties.[28][29] Vijayakanth himself is from a pro-Congress family.[30] On 31 August 2007, Sarathkumar an Tamil film actor, politician, body builder and the current president of South Indian Film Artistes Association floated a new party named 'Akila Indiya Samathuva Makkal Katchi' He has vowed to bring back Kamarajar rule in Tamil Nadu. His party was humiliated with less than 1% votes in the Thirumangalam bye election. [edit] See also[edit] External links
[edit] References
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