In India, cinema and politics have strong relations and this dates back to 1927 when the Indian Cinematograph Committee sent a questionnaire to Mahatma Gandhi. Mahadev Desai, Gandhi’s secretary informed the committee that he was not interested in cinema and a word of admiration should not be expected.
Mahatma Gandhi’s influence is apparent in the work of several actors, from Dadasaheb Phalke to Sanjay Dutt. The movies of Mehboob Khan, V Shantaram, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and, Raj Kapoor dealt with the core themes of Gandhian philosophy— love and sacrifice, non-violence, the rural-urban divide, Hindu-Muslim unity, rejection of crass commercialism, fear of moral decay and women’s emancipation.
It was via their movies that Gandhi appeared as a soaring ethical strength. Although these filmmakers might not have taken his ideas consciously, their films disclosed his influence. I believe there is a strong link between being an actor and being a politician. To emphasize the connection between politics and Bollywood, listed below are the Bollywood actors who are also successful politicians.
Govinda
Actor Govinda’s journey in films started in the 80s and he has played an array of roles over the course of his acting career. He won the Mumbai North seat in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and started his journey in politics.
Hema Malini
A notable Bollywood actress, Hema Malini was elected as the Member of the Lok Sabha from BJP for the first time. She is currently a BJP MP from Mathura.
Jaya Prada
A film actor turned politician, she has starred in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali films. Her roles have led her to win two Filmfare awards. From 2004 to 2014, she was an MP from Rampur. Although Jaya Prada is considered to be one of the most successful actresses of her time, she left the film industry at the peak of her career to become a politician.
Smriti Irani
She is a politician, actress, and a former model. Irani is a Member of Parliament, who has been elected from Gujarat and she is currently the Information and Broadcasting and Textiles Minister to the Government of India.
Shabana Azmi
She is a notable actress who has had leading roles in several films, theatre productions, and television shows. She is also an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. In 1997, the President of India nominated her as a member of the Rajya Sabha and she held this position until 2003.
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