MANIFESTOES IGNORE INDUSTRY

But this is not the first time it has happened. No party has ever taken the film industry seriously enough to consider it worth all the fuss. “The political parties which are fighting over castes and communalism and other burning problems have always treated the industry as an outcaste, as a pariah which doesn’t deserve their attention, their understanding or their sympathy. Why would they consistently neglect this high profile industry otherwise?” asks Vijay Anand who has been closely watching and studying the various political parties, and their attitude towards the industry.

Vijay Anand’s elder brother, Dev, who has always spoken out against the wrongs of various parties and governments, says: “It doesn’t surprise or shock me anymore. I have seen several parties come and go. And the rise and fall of several governments. But I have never seen a party promise anything to the film industry. The parties have an attitude problem. They come to us when they need our support in campaigning, or when they plan to tax us. But they don’t care about the problems we face.”

Surprisingly, even when popular stars were selected to form the government, as in the South, they have done very little for the industry in their states. The late Dr MG Ramachandran who was the first star to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, did very little for the film industry. His successor, J Jayalalitha, too, gave the industry great hope, but besides opening the Jayalalitha Studio to perpetuate her own name, she did nothing for it. The late Dr NT Rama Rao also promised to change the face of the Telugu film industry, but he spent time attending film functions and making more promises than he could keep. The present CM of Tamil Nadu, Dr M Karunanidhi, has no time from politics to help solve the crisis in the Tamil film industry. However, he has promised to look into the industry’s woes after the elections. Will he deliver this time?

The industry in Mumbai saw great hope in 1984 when three of its leading stars, Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan and Vyjayantimala were elected to the Lok Sabha on Congress tickets with thumping victories proving their popularity with the masses. The industry which was always looking for a lobby in parliament, was over-joyed. But the joy was short-lived. Amitabh was “soon sick of the cesspool of politics” and quit after trying his best during the 1986 strike in the industry. Sunil Dutt kept fighting. “How much could I have done as a lone voice trying to make my leaders aware of the industry’s woes. They always gave me a patient hearing. Some problems were solved, most others weren’t because they said there were more pressing affairs of the State to look into.”

Now it seems to be the turn of the BJP. They have already roped in stars like Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Dara Singh, Vijaya Shanti, Krishnam Raju, Gautami and Mukesh Khanna. These stars have promised to give first priority to the industry’s problems if their party came to power. But there is a big if to their assurances. Raj Babbar of the Samajwadi Party, says his leader, Mulayam Singh has promised to look into the industry’s problems after the elections.

Producer Pahlaj Nihalani, president AMPTPP who is campaigning for BJP with Shatrughan Sinha says, “The BJP is the only party which can solve the film industry’s problems”. But, as Dr BR Chopra says, “We can only hope.”