Tamil cinema has played a vital role in the politics of Tamilnadu. Films have been influential right from the British period and movies were used for anti-British propaganda. However, it was the DMK that made extensive use of this media for propaganda purposes.
Former Tamilnadu Chief Minister C N Annadurai was the forerunner in introducing Dravidian ideologies into movie scripts. Parasakthi which had screenplay by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was a turning point.
Six of the state’s Chief Ministers – CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran (MGR), Janaki Ramachandran, J Jayalalitha and M K Stalin – had their roots in filmdom, while several other actors showed an interest in politics.
Annadurai and Karunanidhi were deeply involved in the film industry, as script writers. MGR became the first actor-turned-Chief Minister of the State, followed by Janaki Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and the incumbent Chief Minister M K Stalin.
MGR, Janaki and Jayalalithaa are well-established actors of their time.
Stalin acted in two feature films and a television serial between 1984 and 1989. He was also part of plays espousing the Dravidian ideology even before entering cinema. In 1987, Stalin acted in a film called Ore Ratham along with Karthik and Radha Ravi. This film was written by Karunanidhi and directed by Swarnam. Stalin also acted in another Tamil film called Makkal Aanai Ittal co-starring Vijayakant. While Stalin’s films did not take off, his serial Kurinji Malar, became popular within DMK cadres in the late ’80s.
The state has seen and is seeing several actor-turned-politicians like the late Sivaji Ganesan, R Sarathkumar, Kamal Haasan, T Rajendar, Seeman and M Karthik who have floated their own parties.
There are several other actors like Udhayanidhi Stalin, MR Radha, Radha Ravi, Vishal, R Ramarajan, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Napoleon, Kushboo, CR Saraswathi, Anantharaaj and Mansoor Ali Khan who are actively taking part in politics. Actor Rajinikanth had announced that he will float his own party, however he backed out at the last minute. Although a few stars from other southern states have tried to use film popularity as a stepping stone in politics, such as NT Rama Rao (Andhra Pradesh), Rajkumar (Karnataka) and Prem Nazir (Kerala), the cine people from Tamilnadu seem to have mastered the art.
