HYDERABAD: The impact of cinema has always been huge on the Indian masses. Many actors from the south have had successful careers in politics, like M.G. Ramachandran, N.T. Rama Rao, and J. Jayalalithaa, who all became chief ministers.
Ahead of the ensuing Assembly elections, voters are being influenced by social media posts of movie clips. They are questioning the integrity of the voters, while explaining about the value of each vote. A scene from Shah Rukh Khan’s latest blockbuster, Jawan, shows the protagonist explaining the importance of ink on the finger.
“The concept was picked up by the director, which was projected on such a large screen, for the pan India audience. This will have a big impact on the people. Filmmakers are coming up with responsible scripts,” explains renowned Tollywood director Santosh Srinivas.
He added, “The messages are making a voter more intelligent, while casting his vote.”
Making the conventional argument more brazen, Tejas Dhhanraj from Bollywood says, “Movies absolutely influence and impact the masses. They trigger their thought process, which makes them more responsible and logical. In the 2018 movie ‘Sarkar’, the protagonist arrives from the USA to cast his vote only to discover that his vote had been cast by someone else. He fights it legally. Similarly, Mahesh Babu’s ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’ also sends a strong message to the people.”
Aparna, television anchor and influencer, said, “The new generation voter is smart and we should thank the power of cinema for that. This is also bound to see a bigger voter turnout.”
An election analyst, associated with a main political party, said, “Even parties are using film storylines and dialogues to win over the voters. They are creating film-inspired content that can relate to people.”
