Call sheet of 'MGR, MK' in demand as campaign gains momentum in TN

According to veterans, the concept of impersonating political leaders in the state commenced after the death of MGR in 1987. Some of the look-alike ardent fans of MGR started impersonating him and when they were accepted and loved by the people, they continued the act professionally and started appearing in all the political stages of AIADMK.

As years progressed, more artistes took up the profession and the characters diversified. After MGR, they started dressing up as the late DMK Supremo, M Karunanidhi and also like actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

However, preference is still for MGR as he still holds considerable clout among the voters, especially among the supporters of AIADMK, which is the largest party in the state.

Speaking to DT Next, one of the impersonators, Ramachandran, who is called ‘MGR’ Ramachandran by AIADMK supporters, said, “MGR is still the star among masses. AIADMK politicians, irrespective of their rank, prefer to see him on the stage dressed as MGR.”

Having been in the profession for 22 years, Ramachandran has been part of election campaigns with almost all of the important AIADMK leaders including the late Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa, on several occasions. Speaking about how he dresses up as MGR, Ramachandran said that three aspects are important when a person is dressing up as MGR - one is the cap, second is the coolers and third is the pencil-drawn moustache.

He also said that initially there were only 20 such people dressed as MGR but now there are close to 500 people who are donning his avatar in the political meetings itself.

Another impersonator Siddique is quite popular among the AIADMK supporters as his looks bear an uncanny resemblance to the original actor and politician. “People see me as the real MGR and offer me gifts. They offer me Arathi and take care of me well,” he said.

Ramachandran and Siddique have been invited for the first event of the season which will be a public meeting at Udumalpet by Minister of Municipal Administration, S P Velumani, on Sunday.

Apart from impersonators of MGR, there are those who impersonate other famous actor-turned-politicians and one such name is Yakub’s. He has been in the profession for more than 20 years and has been impersonating Kamal Haasan and AISMK leader, Sarath Kumar. As Kamal has started a new party and is contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, he is expecting offers from MNM’s party functionaries to perform like Kamal on their political stage.

However, the flipside of being a political impersonator is that their remuneration remains a mystery. “Since we are usually invited by senior politicians to perform, it is improper to specify details of what we are paid,” said animpersonator.