Chennai: It won't be an exaggeration to say that film and politics are the Siamese twins in Tamil Nadu and the political history of the state is witness to it. And, it runs through the family of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi with his grandson, Udhayanidhi, being the latest to take the route with an image makeover.
He is no more the chivalrous boy next door but takes a new avatar of avenging injustice. In his recent box office hit, 'Kalaga Thalaivan' (Rebel Leader), a gripping crime thriller, he successfully confronts the corporates, kindling memories of the anti-Sterlite protests. With a strong ideological undercurrent, the film declares that it is the corporates who rule the country, including the political parties. Well, this does not exclude the DMK of which he is the heir apparent. It is the ruling party in the state and yet, he takes on the establishment.
Like Rahul Gandhi who joined hands with the tribals of Niyamgiri, Odisha, who protested against Bauxite mining, the DMK scion has painted the corporates as the villain. Not only did Chief Minister MK Stalin appreciate the movie after a special show, he also asked his cabinet colleague Ma Subramanian about it. “It has come out very well,” was the minister's response. And the video of the conversation, during a morning walk, had gone viral.
Now a legislator, Udhayanidhi was catapulted into politics ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. He has neither visited Thoothukudi, where 14 people were shot dead in police firing on anti-Sterlite protestors in 2018, nor has been seen at the Neduvasal protest against hydrocarbon extraction. But, already he is the party's Youth Wing Secretary and right from ministers everyone shows deference to him.
In his earlier flick, “Nenjukku Needhi” (Justice to the Heart), an adaptation of Anubhav Sinha's movie, he plays the protagonist who is a champion of Dalit rights. The Tamil title of the movie is the title of his grandfather Karunanidhi's six-volume autobiography, detailing the events and political developments since his birth in 1924 to 2006.
Opting for Nenjukku Needhi as the title appears to be a conscious one. For the DMK in the past, films were effective vehicles of propaganda, and now, for Udhayanidhi's political ascendance.
“He is positioning himself as an activist and a fighter for social justice, taking up causes that are dear to the masses. An on-screen saviour like MGR. But, for MGR, there was a context besides the celluloid image as a do-gooder in real life, making him a messiah,” explains senior journalist Kalyan Raman, adding that Stalin might do what Karunanidhi had done to him – bequeathing the political estate with ease.
