One of India’s highest paid actors launches new political career

Indian film superstar Rajinikanth is entering politics in his country’s southern state with a plan to launch his own party.

The 67-year-old yesterday told cheering supporters that it was his “duty to change the system” and bring good governance to Tamil Nadu.

He called for political change and appealed to his fans to bring all sections of society into the fold.

“If I don’t take this decision now, the guilt will haunt me,” he said.

Rajinikanth added: “I am not doing it for any post or money or fame, as I have enough.”

Rajinikanth is one of India’s most popular stars and many of his 175-plus films since 1975 have broken box office records, mostly in the Tamil and Telugu languages.

His political prospects appear bright following a huge political vacuum created by the death of Jayaram Jayalalithaa, an iconic political figure.

There has also been the near-retirement of 93-yearold Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the leader of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party.

“I do not want cadres – I want watchdogs,” the New Delhi Television channel quoted Rajinikanth as saying.

Cinema has always influenced Tamil politics by turning actors into popular politicians.

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai and Muthuvel Karunanidhi were both scriptwriters who went on to become chief ministers.

Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran – a top actor-turnedpolitician popularly known as MGR – also had a strong screen presence and following among the masses.

Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, Rajinikanth worked as a bus conductor for three years before joining an acting school. He started in small roles as a villain in Tamil cinema before working his way up, landing roles in Bollywood, the Hindilanguage film industry based in Mumbai.

The Indian government honoured him with top national awards – the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 – for his contributions to the arts.

He was conferred the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the 45th International Film Festival of India in 2014.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan also tried his hand in politics as a member of India’s Parliament, representing the Congress party in support of his friend, then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, in the 1980s.

He resigned after three years following allegations that he accepted bribes in the purchase of artillery guns. His name was later cleared.