Elections were held to 10 municipal corporations across Maharashtra on Tuesday (Feb 21), including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
As it is often seen on television channels, the celebrities were proudly displaying the ink on their fingers after casting their ballot in the civic polls that are considered a prestige battle for almost all parties, including the allies in the National Democratic Alliance – the BJP and Shiv Sena.
But when one compares the happy celebrity voters of Mumbai with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, who recently spoke their minds against the ongoing political drama in the state, one can't help but ask the question: Are Bollywood celebrities content in just exercising their votes, rather than sharing opinions that could be politically incorrect?
In Tamil Nadu, or for that matter any other South Indian state, a celebrity's entry into politics is an ingrained tradition.
From M Karunandihi to MG Ramachandran to NT Rama Rao to J Jayalalithaa, etc, Southern cine stars or those related to the glamour world have never been hesitant to speaking their minds on their state's politics, irrespective of the risk.
In a state like West Bengal, we have seen almost the entire film industry coming out in support of the ruling Trinamool Congress, with a few anti-didi minds going to the BJP.
In Bollywood, cine stars rooting for either this or that camp and talking about it is not common. With a few exceptions like the late Sunil Dutt, a Congressman, many stars there -- including megastar Amitabh Bachchan – have nothing more than a casual tryst with politics.
In fact, Bollywood seems to favour playing it safe when it comes to politics. Its stars either disconnect from politics once elections are over, or don't take a political stand in public, apart from making gallery shows that are convenient for the rulers of the day.
Are Bollywood stars afraid?
One of the reasons could be fear. Bollywood has always had rocky relations with Marathi sentiments that prefer sons of the soil, rather than those who have come from outside the state to make their fortunes.
And since Maharashtra's political landscape is dotted with aggressive politics practised by outfits like the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, it becomes all the more crucial for Bollywood stars to play things safe for the sake of their livelihood.
In 2014, when a drama was under way between the BJP and Shiv Sena over government formation — as happened in Tamil Nadu recently — how many local celebrities really come out and offered an opinion? Or why does a Karan Johar settle things with a Raj Thackeray in front of the state's chief minister over including a Pakistani actor in his film?
Is Bollywood too pluralistic to arrive at a consensus?
The second reason is the pluralistic character of India's largest film industry. Since Bollywood has been enriched by a congregation of artistes from across the country and also abroad, there is naturally very little to gain by getting involved in local politics.
In an industry where careers and money matter more than anything else for natural reasons, lack of any serious interest in the political domain, which speaks more about confrontation than consensus, is beyond doubt.
In the southern states, local celebrities are more connected to their culture and roots and that makes them more involved with local political developments. The MGRs and the NTRs have left a legacy of mixing glamour with politics, and it still reigns supreme.
Bollywood is fundamentally conservative?
The third reason is Bollywood's reluctance to deal with complex ideas of religion, ethnicity or caste. There are a number of Muslim actors who have made it big in Bollywood, but how many times have we seen any of the Khans taking their original religious identities in films?
Patriotic sentiment is seen more as a currency that earns success in Bollywood instead of dissecting the socio-economic complexities that India represents.
This way, one can understand the conservative nature of Bollywood (quite ironic when compared with its glamour, isn't it?) and who can really expect conservative and politically correct people to dabble in politics?
Hence, it all ends with voting. Nothing beyond that.
