Political act: As Kangana Ranaut files nomination for Lok Sabha poll, here is a look at some others from tinsel town who have had successful innings as politicians

Sheetal

Acting and politics are diverse fields, yet often intersect, going by the number of actors who have taken a keen interest in political goings-on. Big names such as Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini and Jayalalithaa have aligned with political parties. However, not every successful actor has becomes a great politician!

Stars on screen, not so popular in politics

Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Urmila Matondkar, Rajinikanth, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Gul Panag

As actress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kangana Ranaut files a nomination for the Lok Sabha seat in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, we take a look at others who have had success as politicians.

On screen, Kangana has essayed a politician in biographical drama Thalaivii, based on actress-turned-politician J Jayalalithaa. In another film, Emergency, which will release on June 14, she will play the first Indian woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Interestingly, Kangana’s own political future will be decided on June 4!

Impressive innings

Other than her, once actors but now seasoned politicians, Smriti Irani, Hema Malini, Ravi Kishan, Manoj Tiwari and Raj Babbar, are also contesting the 2024 elections, whereas Sunny Deol and Kirron Kher sit this one out. Kher won the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat twice in 2014 and 2019, but this time health issues forced her to take a break.

Sunny Deol had won the 2019 election from Punjab’s Gurdaspur constituency and it took him just 20 days after joining politics to defeat sitting MP Sunil Jakhar, then a senior Congress leader (now in BJP).

Notably, Deol was not the first B-town actor to contest from Gurdaspur. Late actor Vinod Khanna, a BJP member, was two-time MP (1998-2009 and 2014-2017) from the same place. He had served as Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, as well as Minister of State for External Affairs.

Leading the way

Actress Hema Malini, who started her political career by campaigning for Vinod Khanna in 1999, joined the BJP in 2004. She is running from Mathura constituency for the third consecutive term. Apparently BJP has made an exception for Hema by giving her a ticket despite her being 75, an unsaid age bar rule amid the party ranks.

While the actress has had a successful political career, her actor-husband, Dharmendra, couldn’t commit to politics for long. Although he served as an MP from BJP, representing

Bikaner, Rajasthan, from 2004 to 2009, he opted to focus on his film career.

Another actor Raj Babbar, now 71, has been an active politician. He will contest the 2024 elections from Gurugram Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket. However, people of Agra, UP, his home city, will surely miss him! Babbar entered politics by joining the Janata Dal in 1989, which was led by VP Singh. He later joined Samajwadi Party and served as a member of the Rajya Sabha (1994 to 1999) and was re-elected for a second LS term in 2004.

After being suspended from Samajwadi Party in 2006, Babbar joined the Congress in 2008 and was elected for his fourth term in Parliament. Babbar was also appointed the president of Uttar Pradesh Congress committee from 2016 to 2019.

Shining through

From TV actors that went big, Smriti Irani stands tall, having won against Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi from Amethi in 2019. Smriti has served in five different Union ministries during BJP’s 10-year rule. But her win didn’t come easy, as she had earlier lost to politicians like Kapil Sibal (Chandni Chowk, Delhi, 2004) and Rahul Gandhi (Amethi, UP, 2014).

Then there are actor-politician like Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan, who are managing their two jobs in a balanced manner. Last seen in Laapata Ladies and much-appreciated for playing a cop’s character, Kishan is running for Gorakhpur constituency in UP.

Kishan made an ideological shift from Congress to BJP in 2017, but it worked in his favour as he won from Gorakhpur in 2019. Tiwari also contested from Gorakhpur in the 2009 poll as a Samajwadi Party candidate, but lost to Yogi Adityanath. Again, he contested in 2014 as a BJP candidate and won from the North East Delhi constituency. He was appointed Delhi BJP president in 2016 and is currently contesting from North East Delhi for his third term against popular youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar from the Congress.

Meanwhile, Anupamaa-fame Rupali Ganguly and Heeramandi actor Shekhar Suman joined the BJP in May 2024.

Top slot

Jayalalithaa Jayaram became a strong woman Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, but before that MG Ramachandran (MGR) was an actor who became CM too. Similarly, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Closer home, Bhagwant Mann, is the first actor-turned-politician of Punjab, who won as an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate.