Tamil cinema and politics are inseparable. The tinsel town gave five chief ministers to the State. From C N Annadurai, Karunanidhi, MGR, V N Janaki to Jayalalithaa, a lot of stars from Kollywood ended up ruling the State. The likes of Vijayakanth, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth are keen to leave their mark in politics.
The political situation, too, has been fluid in Tamilnadu ever since the demise of two powerful leaders – Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. Cashing in on the opportunity, a few movies, based on contemporary politics, hit the screens recently. Also, a few are in the making. Bio-pic of Jayalalithaa is being made by two filmmakers, while Suriya starrer-NGK and Simbu’s Maanadu also speak politics.
News Today takes a look at these movies.
SARKAR
Directed by A R Murugadoss, Sarkar featured Vijay in the lead. A political film, it revolved around an NRI corporate, who comes to India to vote, only to learn that his vote has already been cast. While he reclaims his right legally, it also sets in motion a chain of events that eventually led him to entering the political fray, trying to change the system. The movie spoke against freebies and also touched upon the ruling AIADMK leading to protest in front of theatres. Eventually, it was re-censored and re-released with the controversial portions cut. Cases were also filed against the filmmaker.
NOTA
Featuring Arjun Reddy-fame Vijay Deverakonda in the lead, NOTA was directed by Anand Shankar. The bilingual flick had Nenjil Thunivirunthal-fame Mehreen Pirzaada in the female lead. The movie was about a youngster who becomes the Chief Minister with a vision to set things right in the State. The Chief Minister (Nasser), who is facing imprisonment in an illegal assets case, makes his son, Varun (Vijay Deverakonda) the temporary Chief Minister until his return. The disinterested young man gradually wakes up to the sorry state of affairs and tries to bring in change. The movie touched upon ‘resort’ politics and factionalism in political parties.
LKG
Written by actor RJ Balaji, who also enacted the lead, LKG was about a small-time politician who aspires to become the Chief Minister. Balaji played Lalgudi Karupaiah Gandhi a.k.a LKG, a councillor in the small town of Lalgudi, who manages to get elected as the head of the State. The influence of social media in politics was well highlighted. In a lighter vein, the movie took a dig at both the major political parties and also the situations after Jayalalithaa was hospitalised a couple of years ago. The movie was well-received by the audience. Priya Anand, Nanjil Sampath and J K Ritheesh acted in the movie.
ANNANUKKU JAI
A political satire, produced by national award-wining filmmaker Vettrimaran, it featured Vimal in the lead. Directed by Rajkumar, the movie was about the son of a toddy seller who decides to become a politician to take on a bar owner who tries to bring down his father. It threw light on how political parties use men who crave for power. An intense drama with fun elements interspersed, Annanukku Jai won the admiration of critics.