There is much bemusement, along with larger curiosity, at the 'box office to ballot' blockbuster playing out in Tamil Nadu right now. The ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay saga fits into the playbook that the southern state has always inclined for, many have quipped, pointing out the long list of film personalities from MGR and Karunanidhi down to Kamal Hasan and Vijaykant who have swapped the make-up for the microphone.
But the truth is that Vijay and Tamil Nadu are no outliers. Go globe-trotting, and you will find scores of examples of people trading their celebrity home for a shot at politics. This ranges across the board, from movie stars to comedians to sports stars to even adult entertainers.
After all, why should just ‘full-time’ politicians have all the fun?
The most famous and biggest instances come from the land of Hollywood. Many amongst Gen Z or Gen Alpha may not be familiar with the name, but through much of the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was the most powerful man on the planet, who successfully switched over from westerns to the White House, and literally became the ‘hero’ who vanquished the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War. Nothing — an assassination attempt, the very improper Iran-Contra scandal, or his loose tongue (once at a public function, he jokingly announced that “We will be launching the war to destroy the Soviet Union shortly,” not realising that the microphone was on) could halt him in his tracks.
Perhaps an even bigger global personality to make it big at the hustings was bodybuilder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He served two stints as governor of California on a Democratic ticket from 2003 to 2011. The logical career progression into bidding for a Presidential nomination was denied to him as he was born an Austrian, and while the US Constitution allows a naturalised citizen to become governors, it allows only those born as Americans to become presidents.
In an era where TV debates, social media presence and the whole ‘public image’ are so much the swinging factor, it is perhaps a sign of the times that more and more personalities from fields traditionally considered outside the realm of ‘serious’ vocations like public office are taking to it.
The truth also is that considering the chaotic churn in politics and geo-strategy in recent years, the post-cold war dream of ‘less government’ in everyday life (remember Fukuyama’s ‘The End of History’ which argued that as the world modernises, there will be less ideological strife and more focus on economics and prosperity amongst nations of the world) was but a postulate that could not hold on — and politics became inescapable for people from all walks of life.
There is all the more reason for people with a significant fan following to find a foothold in that rough-and-tumble world. And it has been heartening that many of them have done no less than starring roles in their new profession — apart from Reagan in the US or Jayalalithaa closer home, the world has watched with sheer admiration how Volodymyr Zelensky, a professional comedian and actor (catch his show ‘Servant of the People’ on Netflix), inspired not just his battered nation while fighting against Putin’s Russia.
He isn’t the only comedian, though (is Kunal Kamra listening?). Jimmy Morales (President of Guatemala 2016-2020) and Marjan Sarec (PM of Slovenia 2018-2020) were both comedians. Some would think that Italy’s present prime minister, Georgia Meloni, may have been a movie star, but she is not — but fret not, Italy has had no less than Ilona Staller, an adult movie star, who was elected to Parliament in 1987.
Another movie star was Joseph Estrada, who was the president of the Philippines between 1998 and 2001. But it’s not like only comedians and movie actors have made it big. From World champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, who served in the Philippines parliament, to male model Borut Pahor, who was both PM and President of Slovenia, and singer Michel ‘Sweet Micky’ who became President of Haiti (2011-2016), the list is long. Closer home, Maharashtra CM Devendra Phadnavis dabbled in fashion modelling before wisely choosing politics instead, soon enough.
And in a world where social media dictates most things, can those pesky influencers and YouTube creators be very far away? After all, we know in India how significant the influence of Facebook and Instagram influencers is in swaying public opinion during elections, and how they are courted by poll managers actively.
Seems the rest of the world is also paying attention. Prank-playing YouTubers Fidias Panayiotou (Cyprus) and Niko Omilana (UK) have both used their social media popularity to gain political attention, the former also getting elected into the European Parliament two years ago. And something tells us, we will be seeing a lot more of this breed on political podiums in the months and years to come.