Lights, camera, politics!

Rajinikant recently surprised his fans all over the globe by hinting at a possibility of him joining politics. The switch from acting to politics is not new in the Indian political scenario. From venturing for brief periods to switching parties, Bollywood stars have done it all. While the media and fans speculate of what the outcome of Rajnikanth’s comments are, Filmfare gives you a low down of Bollywood stars that have ventured into politics down the years…

Rajnikanth

At the trailer-audio release of his upcoming film Lingaa, the Tamil superstar hinted at a possibility of him entering politics. When asked about the often repeated question, the 63 year old actor said, ‘ If God desires that I should come to politics; I’ll serve the people. Politics is dangerous and deep. I’m not afraid of politics, but hesitant. In politics you need strong roots.”
While some say that the mega star’s comments are a part of his pre-release publicity stunts, some are seeing his previous meeting with PM Modi in a totally different light.
Back in 1995, Rajnikanth had supported the Indian National Congress after meeting the then PM Narsimha Rao. For years, there have been speculations of Rajinikant running for the CM of the state and in the course of years, many parties have invited him to join them.

Amitabh Bachchan

After ruling the hindi film industry for a decade, in 1984 Amitabh Bachchan gave his acting career a break and ventured into politics on the insistence of his childhood friend Rajiv Gandhi. Big B contested for the Lok Sabha elections from Allahabad and emerged victorious, as his victory margin was one of the biggest in the history of India’s general elections.
The megastar, who always believed that politics was not his cup of tea, resigned merely after three years of his tenure as an MP and termed politics a cesspool. His family’s name being dragged into the Bofors scandal was followed by his resignation that disturbed the actor deeply. The implications were taken to court and eventually the actor was found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.
Even though Amitabh Bachcan continues to do films having the background of politics, he has no plans of returning to the world of politics.

Jaya Bachchan

While Amitabh Bachchan showed no interest in getting back into the world of politics, Jaya Bachchan ventured in. She was elected as a Samajwadi Party member of parliament representing Rajya Sabha in 2010. She was further re-elected in 2012.
Jaya Bachchan has been extremely active on social issues making bold and fearless statements. Her reaction over Delhi Gang-rape case in Rajya Sabha gave goose bumps to every Indian.

Shatrughan Sinha

Shatrughan Sinha is one of the few actors with a successful political streak. The veteran actor emerged victorious after defeating celebrity Shekhar Suman in the general election from Bihar. Later, he became the Health and Family Welfare minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government and also headed the Ministry of Shipping. In 2006 he was assigned as the head of BJP's Culture and Art wing.

Hema Malini

In 2003, Hema Malini was nominated from Maharashtra as the Rajya Sabha member by the then President, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Azad. She joined the BJP in 2004 and was made the general secretary of the party in March 2010. The actress has for years been totally dedicated to her political duties. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Hema Malini emerged victorious from Mathura parliamentary constituency.

Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna started campaigning for Comgress in 1984. After losing to L.K.Advan in 1991, the then superstar won the same seat in a by-election by defeating Shatrugan Sinha. He served as a MP in the Lok Sabha from 1992 to 1996. Upon quitting as well, Rajesh Khanna continued to serve the party as an activist and also played a vital part in Congress’ campaigning in the 2012 Punjab elections.

Jaya Prada

Jaya Pradha joined TDP on N T Rama Rao's invitation. Despite being offered a seat to contest elections, she stayed back and dedicated all her time to the 1994 campaign. After having differences with the party head, she left TDP and joined Samajwadi Party and contested elections from Uttar Pradesh's Rampur constituency. She was a member of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. After being expelled from the party in 2010, the former actress joined RLD in 2014. She lost the 2014 general elections that she contested from Bijnor.

Dharmendra

Dharmendra was elected as a Member of the Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from Bikaner in Rajasthan, on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.

Rekha

The evergreen Rekha was nominated as the member of Rajya Sabha in the Parliament in May 2012.

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Aazmi was nominated as the member of Rajya Sabha in the Parliament in 1997. The actress has been a part of several social activities supporting child survival and fighting AIDS. And since 1989 she has been the member of the National Integration Council headed by the Prime Minister of India.

Govinda

Govinda defeated a five-time sitting MP and was elected to the Lok Sabha.  He served as an MP from 2004 to 2009 in the Indian National Congress.  The actor was criticized for opposing the ban on bar dancers, for openly supporting actor Shakti Kapoor during his sting operation period and for not being active at all. In 2008, Govinda bid goodbye to politics.

Kiron Kher

After being a part of various non-profit movements, Kiron Kher joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 2009. She contested and won the 2014 general elections from Chandigrah after beign declared as a Lok Sabha member. Former beauty queen, Gul Panag was also contesting for the same seat from AAP.

Nagma

The actress contested the Lok Sabha elections this year as the Congress candidate from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

Shekhar Suman

The actor was unsuccessful in contesting on Congress ticket against his senior and BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Saheb constituency in the 2009 elections.

Gul Panag

The former beauty queen was the Aam Admi candidate from Chandigrah in this year’s general elections.