Actor Kamal Haasan recently wished "good luck" to actor-filmmaker Prakash Raj. The reason - his foray into politics. The big names of Kollywood are steadily venturing into politics and this is not the first time that icons of cinema are seen waving hands as leaders in a bid to create ripples as a politician.
Let's take a look at the stars from across the film industries who are venturing out into politics as India heads to another election season:
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan announced the name of his new political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam at a massive function in Madurai, last year. He had shared stage with Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal then.
Makkal Needhi Maiam roughly translated to People's Justice Centre could not be bracketed as left or right but would draw the best from all ideologies putting people at its core, according to Haasan.
Rajinikanth
“My entry into politics is definitive” is how the star answered queries in this regard last year. Industry sources say that after 'Petta', Rajinikanth has signed one more film which could be his last in his long acting career. However, no official confirmation has been made on this. 'Rajini Makkal Mandram', the launch vehicle of Rajnikanth's political party, has been actively conducting a membership drive and is involved in framing guidelines to run the proposed party.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that Rajinikanth will officially launch his party and it will contest the 2021 assembly polls from all the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.
Prakash Raj
Multi-lingual actor Prakash Raj confirmed that he will contest the ensuing Lok Sabha election in April-May from Bengaluru Central constituency as an Independent candidate. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has extended its support to Raj in his political venture.
Moshumi Chatterjee
The Bollywood and Bengali actress who starred in many hit films in the 70s and 80s, is eyeing a political carrer. On Wednesday, Moushumi Chatterjee joined the BJP at a function held in New Delhi. This is not the first time she is trying her hands at politics, though. In 2004, Chatterjee had fought the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket from Kolkata but didn’t win.
Chatterjee was last seen on the big screen in 2015 release 'Piku' in which she played the role of Deepika Padukone’s maternal aunt. After initial setback, many fans hope she will be successful in her stint with a new party.
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar's name has been doing rounds as a probable candidate from a Lok Sabha seat from Punjab or Delhi. Since Akhay Kumar holds Canadian citizenship, the National Award-winner will have to take up Indian citizenship first to contest the election.
The names of Anupam Kher and Nana Patekar are also doing rounds as the countdown for Lok Sabha elections has commenced. But no announcement has been made regarding any of them. Kher' actress wife Kirron is the MP representing the Chandigarh constituency.
Riteish Deshmukh
It seems Riteish Deshmukh is all set to follow his politician dad Vilasrao Deshmukh’s footsteps and enter politics. Reports are rife that Riteish will contest Lok Sabha elections from his hometown – Latur. Don't be surprised if the Congress party fields him as its candidate in the upcoming polls.
Earlier, when reports were rife about his political entry, he had declined it saying he wasn't interested.
Mohanlal
The question that remains – will Mohanlal ever enter electoral politics? There was quite a buzz regarding his political plunge after reports said BJP is interested in offering him a ticket for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. Well, with Mohanlal having back-to-back films in his kitty, will the Mollywood superstar ever get time to contest in elections?
