Just show your face and lakhs (of votes) will come our way." While it might seem like just another politician using a superstar tactically to garner votes in reality it was a carefully crafted strategic move in the masterplan to build brand DMK using Tamil Films.
Unlike most Indian political parties which use movie stars to attend political rallies hoping large crowds will follow or give poll tickets in the hope that personal popularity will lead to victory, Dravidian parties, both the DMK as well as the AIADMK, have used not just film stars but cinema in its entirety as a medium to build sustainable brand franchises. It's the kind of subliminal branding that most marketers can only dream to achieve.
Flashback: The Brand Antecedents
The strategy of using cinema as a medium to connect with the masses according to Cho Ramaswamy, the well-known political commentator, editor of political magazine, Tughlak and a former Tamil film actor, began pre-independence. He says, "This was when films were used as a nationalist propaganda with the objective of being anti-British. The usefulness of cinema as a medium was realised even then." For the DMK, which came into existence in 1949, its political agenda revolved around issues like the upliftment of backward classes, anti-Brahminism and inculcating a sense of Tamil nationalism.
Its founding members included Anna and current Tamil Nadu chief minister, M Karunanidhi, both of who remain to date two of the most celebrated scriptwriters in Tamil cinema. Both Anna and Karunanidhi ensured that all these issues found their way into plays, film dialogues and movie soundtracks. According to MSS Pandian, a Chennaibased social scientist and author of The Image Trap: MG Ramachandran in Film and Politics: "The scriptwriters presented a statement of the party ideology in their work." Anna set the ball rolling here by penning the scripts for films like Nalla Thambi (Good Brother), Velaikari (The Maid) and Oru Iravu (One Night).
Broadly speaking, these films focused on issues like the abolition of zamindari, harm caused by avarice and the need to be self-sufficient. The landmark film though according to many Tamil political observers is, the 1952 film Parasakthi (The Almighty) written by Karunanidhi. This film condemned the caste system, questioned blind religious beliefs and called for marriages devoid of ostentation.
It is considered as the earliest and most effective example of propagating the DMK political line. "The film was important since it spoke of atheism and politics. It remains a political film not just for that period but even now," says noted film actor Kamal Hassan, who has been deeply influenced by it.
The Plot Thickens: The Brand Promise
Powerful political scripts were just the beginning. The dialect of Tamil used in movies back then was predominantly a Brahiminical Tamil one. Given its strident anti-Brahmin posturing the scriptwriters began to now write in Dravidian Tamil - a language spoken by their target audience.
They shifted the idiom and laced their scripts with societal innuendoes and rhetoric. Robert L. Hardgrave, Temple Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin who has done extensive research on Tamil Nadu politics from that period believes that it was a symbiotic relationship for the DMK to use the party to promote films and use films to promote the party.
A Star Is Born: The Brand Ambassador
The defining moments in this brand building exercise came when MGR formally joined the party in 1953. Over the next few years, his films like Malai Kallan (Mountain Thief) and Madurai Veeran (Warrior of Madurai) would facilitate his rise to superstardom. Needless to say, the DMK ideology gained more ground. "He was the subaltern hero. Besides, the use of names like MGR for MG Ramachandran and CNA for CN Annadurai ensured that certain political responses were evoked," says Pandian.
In the 1959 release, Nadodi Mannan (Vagabond King) ,MGR thunders on screen: "We are not keen on position or power that is not rightfully ours." This film, was a key moment in the meteoric rise of the DMK. Vaasanthi, a freelance journalist, makes a significant mention of Nadodi Mannan in her book, Cut-Outs, Caste and Cine Stars: "In the film, MGR, the hero, a medieval king, issues a decree that reads like the DMK election manifesto.
There was even the DMK election flag fluttering across the screen and the symbolic rising sun (the party's logo)." She cites the instance of a public meeting where MGR declared that “the movie has been produced to show that the DMK is the party that's serving the people of this country."
Art Direction: The Brand Identity
Use of Colour
In these black and white films, the usage of the DMK party colours, black and red, was impossible. That changed in the mid-60s with the release of Aayirathil Oruvan (One in a Thousand) and Enga Veetu Pillai (Son of our House). The hero was now in a red or black shirt and the battle between good and evil made for fascinating viewing.
"It was an unofficial endorsement for a political party in an unpolitical film," says Hardgrave. Critically, these were released before the 1967 elections where the DMK would be up against the Congress. In a song from Enga Veetu Pillai, MGR clad in a black shirt points to the villains and speaks eloquently of a time when his calling will come. "I will then put an end to the atrocities of this crowd," he sings. That it worked was evident when the DMK swept to power.
The Brand Jingles
Like the powerful dialogues loaded with political messages, the lyrics of songs were also a political vehicle.. According to TM Soundararajan - MGR's voice during the 50s, 60s and 70s - "There was never a negative feeling in the songs. There was probably a political message.".
The Brand Loyalists
Fan clubs too played a key role. When MGR formed the AIADMK in 1972 the hero's fans, put MGR's face on the DMK flag and decided to make that the AIADMK party flag. In time, the fan clubs were systematically cultivated by MGR and used to reach out to the masses by distributing money to the poor, organize blood donation camps and ensure that the party's flag or MGR's face came to be associated as prominently as they could be with fan club activities.
In 1972 MGR was expelled from the DMK. He launched a new party called the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The new party had a new symbol the now ubiquitous two leaves. He went back to cinema to give his new outfit a boost. In Sange Muzhangu (Blow the Conch), a 1972 release, he is seen reading a book on Anna's teachings and espousing them in the film. In the 1974 smash hit, Urimai Kural (Voice for Rights) MGR is spotted dressed in a veshti bearing the AIADMK's party colours.
"I know there are a lot of things going on here and I will address them when my time comes," he says. During this period, references to Anna through dialogues, lyrics or just his photo in the background were just some methods employed by the AIADMK. It was not always a direct approach and a scene in the film would often show MGR paying his respects to his elder brother (Anna in Tamil).
"It is my duty to listen to my Anna," would be his line, which would have his mentor's picture. Needless to say, he used the medium ceaselessly to propagate the two leaves symbol. If it could not be used directly, subtle branding took its place. The hero flashed the victory sign and the audiences (read voters) knew exactly what was being conveyed. Says Pandian, "Between 1972 and 1977, there were a lot of reruns of his old films.
At any point in time, there were four-five films playing in Chennai's movie halls," If the new films were not working, the audience had a chance to see a younger version of MGR. According to Cho Ramaswamy: "It was a planned effort. Let's remember dialogues can be good but it depends on the actor's ability to deliver.
To the masses, MGR was the messenger." Karunanidhi, for his part, also tried to use films and sought to position his son, Mu Ka Muthu, against MGR. Muthu played the Good Samaritan in films like Anaya Vilakku (Mother's Lamp), Pillayo Pillai (The Son) and Pookkari (Flower Seller) without an iota of success.
Closing Titles: The Brand Promise Today
Both the DMK and the AIADMK today no longer are using cinema to further their political ambitions. However, that said it is no coincidence that the biggest TV channel in the state which leans heavily towards the DMK is branded as Sun (the party symbol) TV. Or that the channel leaning towards Jayalalithaa and AIADMK is called Jaya TV and flaunts the two leaves symbol.
Even more significant is the fact that current superstar Rajnikanth who many believe could enter politics in the near future is using his films to send out veiled political messages (see Reign Man). It's hard to say if today the box-office can be used successfully for political ends, however given the fine understanding of in-film branding that Tamil politicians have, it might be too early to say that this is THE END.
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