Thiruvananthapuram:  From strolling by way of the courtyards of Cliff Home, the official residence of the Kerala chief minister, to casually discussing his fondness for Rajinikanth movies and moments of private remorse, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s upcoming interview with celebrity Mohanlal seems to mix the non-public with the political, with the previous taking the lead.

The interview, titled ‘Iruvar’ (which means two folks in Tamil), is about to be launched tomorrow forward of the essential Kerala Meeting polls, the place Vijayan is as soon as once more main the ruling CPI(M), aiming for a 3rd consecutive time period.

The interview’s launch simply weeks earlier than the Meeting polls is important, putting Vijayan amongst key politicians who’ve chosen to interact with actors in high-profile conversations within the election season.

Throughout the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for a casual, largely non-political dialog. The hour-long interview aired on April 24, shortly after voting for the third section of the elections, and drew criticism for focusing largely on private questions throughout the marketing campaign interval.

Vijayan himself has beforehand engaged with Malayalam actors. Years in the past, throughout his first tenure as chief minister, he and his spouse participated in a candid interview with late actor Sreenivasan, discussing private issues together with his childhood. The dialog was titled Oru vadakkan veeragatha (A northern story of valour), impressed by the traditional Malayalam movie starring Mammootty.

Equally, in Could 2016, when Vijayan was CPI(M) state secretary, he engaged in a dialog with actor Navya Nair, who addressed him as “uncle” by way of the interview. Each interviews have been aired by Kairali TV, a channel backed by the CPI(M), and delved into his private life, together with questions directed at his spouse.

The CPI(M), nevertheless, dismissed ideas that the newest interview was a publicity stunt. “Congress’s PR stunt is already there. Mohanlal and the chief minister share an excellent friendship, and the trailer is nice,” state industries minister P. Rajeev mentioned.

The state’s opposition Congress mentioned it had no objection to the interview.

“Pinarayi Vijayan is the elected chief minister of Kerala. If he does an interview with a recognized actor, we have now no drawback. The one subject is that ‘Iruvar’ was the title used earlier for the Oommen Chandy–Mohanlal interview. They might have modified the title. Allow us to at the least see the chief minister smiling and answering questions. Normally, he speaks however doesn’t take actual questions. Let him at the least reply to Mohanlal,” Chief of Opposition V. D. Satheesan mentioned.

Speaking to ThePrint, political analyst Okay. P. Sethunath mentioned the interview was a part of a broader image-building train by the get together forward of polls.

“I really feel there may be an try and painting him as an individual moderately than a hardcore communist. He’s normally perceived as powerful; this could possibly be aimed toward displaying a softer facet, a pacesetter with empathy, a household man, somebody related to fashionable cinema,” Sethunath mentioned.

Cinema in politics

With a profession spanning over 4 a long time and 400 films, Mohanlal, who obtained the Dadasaheb Phalke Award final yr, has by no means formally related to any political get together however has interacted with leaders throughout events. He had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017, describing the assembly as “non-political”, and had publicly supported the Union authorities’s demonetisation transfer in 2016.

The celebrity has himself beforehand interviewed former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in 2011, when Chandy was Chief of the Opposition. That interview, additionally titled Iruvar, aired on Jaihind TV, a Congress-backed channel, and mentioned cinema, Kerala politics, and growth.

The title Iruvar refers back to the 1997 Tamil political movie, a cult traditional directed by Mani Ratnam, loosely impressed by the lives of Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, and starring Mohanlal, Prakash Raj and Aishwarya Rai.

(Edited by Viny Mishra)

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Additionally learn: The ‘apolitical’ interview between PM Modi & Akshay Kumar was extra than simply about mangoes

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