South superstars like MGR, J. Jayalalitha, NTR became Chief Ministers: Amitabh Bachchan contested elections when Rajiv Gandhi asked him to do so. South stars dominate politics more than Bollywood stars

Elections have not only been an important subject of films, but many film stars have also made important contributions to Indian politics. Be it South cinema or Bollywood, stars have been contesting elections for years. While on one hand stars from South cinema like MGR, J. Jayalalithaa, NTR entered politics and held the post of Chief Minister, on the other hand, the political journey of stars like superstar Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha remained in the news. The list of film stars contesting elections is long, however, there are only a few who have made their mark by being active in politics.

Before the results of Lok Sabha elections 2024 are out, take a look at the political journey of South and Bollywood stars-

These South superstars were the most successful in politics-

MGR was shot twice, he filled out his application for Madras State Election from the hospital

MGR i.e. M.G. Ramachandran. He was also a superstar of Tamil films, whom his fans worshipped like a god. To take advantage of his popularity, every political party of the 50s wanted to include him in their party. This was the reason why MGR joined the Congress party in 1953. After some time, writer turned politician C.N. Annadurai convinced him to join his party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). In this way, MGR became an MLA for the first time in 1962.

MGR has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu thrice.

On 12 January 1967, during a meeting regarding a film, M.R. Radha, a popular villain of South films, opened fire on MGR. His popularity was such that as soon as the news of him being shot spread, 50 thousand fans gathered outside the hospital within an hour.

MGR filling out the Madras State Election form.

During his recovery, MGR filled out his application for Madras State Election from the hospital. A picture of this also came out, when MGR was seen signing a paper with a bandage on his neck and head. Fans and DMK party workers spread this picture of him all over the city. The advantage was that in 1967, MGR became MLA with a margin of 27 thousand votes. He was the MLA who got the highest number of votes in the history of Madras.

MGR usually liked to stay away from the crowd, so whenever he would go out for election campaigns, there would be a crowd of people to see him.

After Annadurai’s death, when MGR raised his voice against the growing corruption in the DMK party, he was expelled from the party. After leaving the party, MGR formed his own party Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was later renamed as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. It emerged as the largest opposition party to DMK. The party won 130 out of 234 seats in 1977 and MGR became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Jayalalithaa entered politics at the behest of MGR, assumed power after his death

The relationship between superstar MGR and J. Jayalalithaa was in the news a lot. Even after separating from MGR, J. Jayalalithaa considered him her Guru. J. Jayalalithaa entered politics on the advice of MGR. When MGR formed his own party, he asked J. Jayalalithaa to join the party. However, the party workers were against it. J. Jayalalithaa did join the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and became the propaganda secretary, but due to opposition, MGR had to remove her from the post. The party people did not want the party’s image to be tarnished due to the relationship between J. Jayalalithaa and MGR.

In 1989, J. Jayalalitha was misbehaved with in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Her sari was pulled.

After the death of MGR, J. Jayalalithaa had to face opposition from his family. In a political journey full of ups and downs, J. Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time in 1991. She was the first woman Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Photo of J. Jayalalitha taken during her meeting with Sonia Gandhi.

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao aka NTR, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao alias NTR, who was a star of South cinema in the 60s-70s, also achieved success in politics. He entered politics only because South film producer V. Nagi Reddy told him that no matter how much wealth or fame one earns, the real power lies with politicians. On hearing this, he formed his own Telugu Desam Party in 1982. When NTR, who is worshipped like a god in the South, contested the elections, his fans gave him a lot of love.

Photo of NTR taken during election campaign.

In 1983, he won the election and became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. NTR became the CM of Andhra Pradesh thrice from 1983-1994.

Chiranjeevi had formed his own party, joined hands with Congress after winning the election

In 2008, South star Chiranjeevi formed the Praja Rajyam Party in Andhra Pradesh. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, this party won 18 seats out of 294. Chiranjeevi contested from Tirupati and Palakollu, although he could win only from Tirupati. In 2011, Chiranjeevi talked to Sonia Gandhi and merged his party with the Congress. After this, he became a Rajya Sabha member in 2012. After joining the party, he has also been the Tourism Minister. However, he is not active in politics since 2018.

Chiranjeevi sharing the stage with Sonia Gandhi.

These Bollywood stars also tried their hand in politics

Amitabh Bachchan entered politics at the behest of Rajiv Gandhi

Amitabh Bachchan’s mother Teji Bachchan and Indira Gandhi were close friends. Hence, the friendship between Amitabh Bachchan and Rajiv was also deep. In 1984, when Rajiv Gandhi told Amitabh Bachchan that he should contest against Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna from Allahabad, Amitabh agreed. Everyone had their eyes on this seat because Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna had never lost an election, he was also the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at that time. But when the election results came, everyone was surprised. Hemvati Nandan lost the election in front of Amitabh Bachchan’s star power.

Photo of Amitabh Bachchan taken during election campaign.

Due to being busy in films, Amitabh was getting away from politics, which his political opponents took full advantage of. Amitabh’s name started being dragged in the Bofors, Fairfax and submarine scams. Amitabh could not bear this pressure and he retired from politics in 1987.

Amitabh Bachchan garlanding Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally.

Rajesh Khanna contested the election against LK Advani

In 1991, Rajesh Khanna contested the Lok Sabha elections from Congress against senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani. Rajesh Khanna gave a tough fight to the opposition in the elections, but he lost by just 1589 votes. Advani got 93,662 votes, while Rajesh Khanna got 92,073.

Rajesh Khanna used to campaign for elections along with his wife Dimple Kapadia and daughters Twinkle and Dimple.

When LK Advani resigned from the Delhi seat in 1992, a by-election was again held for the Delhi seat. Congress again made Rajesh Khanna its candidate in this election.

Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha clashed, there was a rift after the results were announced

In the by-election, the Bharatiya Janata Party gave a ticket to Shatrughan Sinha against Rajesh Khanna at the behest of Lal Krishna Advani. Rajesh Khanna won the election by 25000 votes and was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1992-96.

Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha have worked together in many films like Dil-e-Nadaan and Paapi Pet Ka Sawal.

Rajesh Khanna had such a dominance in that era that despite winning, he was hurt by the fact that how his friend Shatrughan Sinha agreed to contest against him. As a result, he stopped talking to Shatrughan Sinha. Years later, Shatrughan Sinha accepted it as his mistake and said that when Rajesh Khanna was admitted to the hospital, he wanted to go and apologize to him, but unfortunately Rajesh Khanna died before they could meet.

Shatrughan Sinha has been a part of parties like Congress, BJP and Trinamool Congress.

Shatrughan Sinha has been an MP twice. In 2014, when he did not get a ministerial post at the center, his relations with BJP soured. In 2019, when BJP fielded Ravi Shankar Prasad as a candidate from Patna Sahib in his place, Shatrughan Sinha joined Congress. He remained in BJP for about 28 years. After this, his journey in Congress lasted only three years. Then he joined Mamata Banerjee’s party Trinamool Congress and is now an MP from Asansol. In this Lok Sabha election, he has been given a ticket from Asansol.

Vinod Khanna became the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave him the post

Actor Vinod Khanna also entered politics in 1997. After joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, he became an MP from Gurdaspur, Punjab. In 1999, he won the election and became the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism. 6 months later, Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave him the post of Minister of State for External Affairs. Vinod Khanna is the only Bollywood actor who has won the Lok Sabha elections four times.

Photo of Vinod Khanna taken during an election rally.

Dharmendra left politics in four years, Sunny Deol is also now cut off from politics

Dharmendra contested the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Bikaner Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party and won a landslide victory. However, he never contested an election after that. When he could not balance films and politics, he resigned from politics in 2008.

Dharmendra has been a part of politics for only 4 years.

Following the footsteps of Dharmendra, his son Sunny Deol also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019. He defeated Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar from Gurdaspur by 82459 votes. However, he is currently not active in politics.

Sunny Deol has stayed away from political issues since the release of Gadar 2.

Hema Malini has been the party general secretary of BJP

In 1999, Hema Malini was a part of the election campaign of BJP candidate Vinod Khanna. After this, she joined the BJP in 2004. She was an MP in the Upper House from 2003-09. In 2011, Hema Malini became the party general secretary. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Hema Malini defeated Mathura’s RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary by 330743 votes. Hema Malini is still active in politics.

Hema Malini has been fielded from Mathura in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Jaya Bachchan has been a part of politics for 20 years

Jaya Bachchan contested elections on behalf of Samajwadi Party and became an MP in the year 2004. Since then she is active in politics. Her statements in the Parliament are often discussed.

Jaya Bachchan has become a Rajya Sabha MP by winning the elections five times.

Jaya Prada is active in politics since 1994

Jaya Prada started her political career in 1994 with NT Rama Rao’s Telugu Desam party. In 1996, the actress was appointed as a Rajya Sabha MP for the first time. After a few years, the actress left South India and entered North Indian politics through the Samajwadi Party. The actress has been elected MP twice through this party.

Jaya Prada is a part of Bharatiya Janata Party since 2019.

There have been some stars from the Bollywood film industry like Govinda, Shekhar Suman, Urmila Matondkar, Paresh Rawal, Shabana Azmi who entered politics but could not play a long innings. Stars like Thalapathy Vijay and Kamal Haasan from South cinema have also formed their own parties. However, they are not active in politics.