By Reya Mehrotra
There is anything about Bollywood and politics. The latter draws the largest names from the film business, the most current getting Mithun Chakraborty who has joined the BJP. But stars who shine vibrant on the huge screen typically fail in politics. Here are some who attempted their hand at politics, but failed to succeed.
Urmila Matondkar
The actor had joined Congress in March in 2019 and contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai North seat, but was unsuccessful. Later, in September the similar year, merely 5 months right after joining the party, she quit, citing “petty politics” as the explanation. Now, the actor says she desires to concentrate on very good scripts and her profession as an actor, and is experimenting with internet shows. She joined the Shiv Sena in 2020.
Amitabh Bachchan
Bollywood’s largest star, as well, had his share of failure in politics. In 1984, he took a break from films to join politics to help his extended-time pal Rajiv Gandhi. He contested for the 8th Lok Sabha from Allahabad’s seat and won, as well, by a wonderful margin. However, his political profession was shortlived as he resigned right after 3 years, following which he was implicated in the Bofors scandal. He was later located not guilty. He began supporting Samajwadi Party for his extended-term pal Amar Singh, but did not join it.
Shatrughan Sinha
He was a Lok Sabha member from 2009 to 2014 and a Rajya Sabha member from 1996 to 2008 for two terms. In the Vajpayee government, he served as the minister for wellness and household welfare and shipping and later among 2014 and 2019, a member of the standing committee and consultative committee in the ministry of external affairs and overseas Indian affairs. When he was not offered a seat right after the 2019 elections by BJP, he joined Congress.
Rekha
Known for her versatility and grace, actor Rekha has won a lot of awards for her notable performances in motion pictures like Umrao Jaan and Khubsoorat, and been component of critically- and commercially-acclaimed films like Ijaazat, Silsila, Khoon Bhari Maang and so on. Owing to her decades of contribution to cinema, she was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member in 2012 and nonetheless serves as one. However, in all these years, she has had one of the lowest attendances in the Rajya Sabha and has not asked a lot of concerns in the extremely handful of sessions she has attended.
Sunny Deol
The Bollywood star turned to politics right after a prosperous run at the silver screen for years. He is presently a member of parliament from Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab. He has typically been in controversies in his political profession. In February 2020, at a rally in Pathankot, he mentioned, “I do not believe in making controversial remarks, but everyone knows no one is better than me when it comes to beating up someone.” He also drew flak when he hired a representative in Gurdaspur to attend meetings and comply with vital matters in his absence. He was named out for his brief attendance in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Javed Jaffrey
The actor, who has quite a few motion pictures and shows to his credit, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2014. He contested the 2014 common election from Lucknow constituency, but completed fifth. He lost to Rajnath Singh right after securing 41,429 votes. He has not been extremely active in politics right after that. In 2014, he mentioned that he had entered politics to “remove the shortcomings in the system prevailing in the country.”
Mahesh Manjrekar
Mahesh Manjrekar has had a prosperous Bollywood profession each as an actor and director. He is identified for directing films like Astitva, Vaastav and Viruddh. In 2014, he joined politics by getting into Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray. He contested the 2014 elections from the Mumbai North West constituency. However, he lost to Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar. He has continued his stint in films with the most recent getting Mumbai Saga.
Shekhar Suman
The actor has managed his profession effectively in films and Television. In reality, he won a lot of accolades for his Television show Movers & Shakers. He fought the Lok Sabha election in 2009 from Patna Sahib as a component of Congress, but lost to Shatrughan Sinha who was contesting from the BJP. Later in 2012, he mentioned a strict no to politics.
Gul Panag
Actor Gul Panag wears a lot of hats. She is a certified pilot, acclaimed actor, model, former beauty queen, half-marathon runner, biker and a social activist. In 2014, she was the candidate from Chandigarh for the AAP for the common elections. However, she secured the third position and lost to Kirron Kher. Her father HS Panag, a retired Lieutenant General in the Indian army, also joined AAP in 2014 right after his retirement from the armed forces, but quit later.