Kolkata:What do the 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet starrer Titanic, the 2001 Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan, the 2016 Rajanikanth starrer Kabali, the 2019 Akshay Kumar starrer Kesari, or the 2021 Suriya-Lijo Mol Jose starrer Jai Bhim, got any connection with the municipal elections in West Bengal?
Thanks to Covid restrictions and the state election commission’s guidelines against big congregations or rallies amid the third wave of the pandemic, the opposition CPI(M) in Bengal is using dialogues and clips from these blockbuster films and many more as posters for their poll campaign over virtual media.
The digital team of the Left party, which was in power at the state’s hustings with other Left parties for 34-years and has been decimated repeatedly in consecutive elections since 2011, has prepared a series of virtual posters to woo voters and cast their ballot in favor of Left candidates in civic elections. The first lot of the polls is scheduled for February 12.
“Jack tried till his last breath to keep his love (Rose) alive… What would you do for your lovely town? Never allow greedy, criminals to destroy your loved town to get ransacked. Cast your vote for your own candidate early morning to turn into a green clean developed township. Stop proxy voting,” reads the graphic poster with the iconic Titanic movie scene as the backdrop featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
CPI-M goes to silver screen in search of a silver line “Rajnikant never let a chance go… Do you? Never allow anyone to proxy your own vote. Cast your vote early in the morning to protect your democratic right. Stop proxy voting,” the virtual poster featuring the inimitable Rajinikanth in Kabali, reads.
During the 2021 Bengal Assembly polls, CPI(M) had created a sort of stir on the virtual platforms with their ‘Tumpa’ parody song, which had grabbed millions of eyeballs on the digital space. But, a section of party leaders had questioned the method and had said, CPI(M) was more focussed on the cyberspace and digital world than the real world where the voters live and go to the booths to cast their votes. Eventually, Alimuddin Street mandarins had given a go-ahead to the use of new-age tools in the campaign.
This time, there is no song. But, a series of posters to woo the voters. And not all are in Bangla. The messages have been composed in English and Hindi languages as well to reach out to the cross-section of people, especially in the municipal corporation areas of Asansol and Siliguri, which goes to poll in mid-February.
“Bhuvan had participated in a cricket war against the British to stop paying forced taxes… What will you do? Cast your vote early in the morning to protest against the ruling party, its misgovernance, booth capturing, proxy voting, cut money, and intimidation. Stop proxy vote,” reads the virtual poster in Hindi, showcasing the fictional cinema work of Ashutosh Gowariker where, the farmer character of Bhuvan played by Aamir Khan from the village of Champaner, had clubbed a cricket team to challenge the British on paying of forced taxes.
It is not only Hollywood or Bollywood that the CPI(M) new-age campaign has laid its hands on. Popular Bengali films have also found equal presence. Bengal matinee idol Uttam Kumar features in one of the posters, where a shot from his hugely popular film “Agnishwar” has been used. The message reads, “The physician Agnishwar had protested against all ills and illegal norms. He was also deeply involved in helping and treating the needy. And you?” The work of the Red volunteers and Workers’ Canteen, which were organized by the CPI(M) to assist the people during the pandemic, has become the focus of the poster.
Satyajit Ray has been prominently featured in the campaign posters. Two of his iconic films, “Hirak Rajar Deshe” featuring Soumitra Chatterjee as Udayan Pandit (the teacher) and “Aguntuk” featuring Utpal Dutt as Manmohan Mitra (the stranger) have been used to woo voters.
CPI-M goes to silver screen in search of a silver line “Films have always been a part of our social fabric and people tend to remember the characters that they love to watch on the silver screen. We want our campaign to reach the minds of the people and make a difference in our appeal. Hence, the virtual posters with films and iconic characters as focal themes,” a member of the party’s digital campaign team told ETV Bharat.
Senior CPI(M) leader and former Lok Sabha member Samik Lahiri says, “Change is a way of life. With the new age and digital mode of campaign becoming the norm of the day, we need to be innovative. The basic thing is to highlight our efforts and vision and reach out to the maximum number of people in a responsible manner. We always believe that people say the final word and time and again we go back to them to seek their support. At times we have failed to deliver our message, but we have stuck to our beliefs.
“Mein Jahan Khara Hoon, Wahan Se Line Shuru Hoti Hai (The queue starts from where I stand),” is the message of one of the virtual posters featuring superstar Amitabh Bachchan, which is a takeaway from the 1981 blockbuster Kaalia starring Amitabh and Amjad Khan. The poster goes on to read, “But, it is not like that for you. Still, to protect your democratic rights cast your own vote early.”
Will this new style of a campaign by the Reds make any dent among the voters and will the CPI(M) reap some electoral numbers from this new-age campaign? The results are due on February 14.
