In the backdrop of actor Arun Govil, known for playing the role of Lord Ram in ‘Ramayan’ TV series joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, 18 March, it is interesting to trace the political histories of other actors from the most popular rendition of Ramayan on TV.
Besides Govil, Arvind Trivedi who played Raavan in the TV series, Deepika Chikhlia who played Sita, and Dara Singh who played Hanuman have all been members of the BJP for a period of their lives.
ANAND TRIVEDI
Trivedi, who played Raavan in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, has acted in over 250 films in Hindi and Gujarati.
As he gained popularity through his role, the 82-year-old earned a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket from the Lok Sabha constituency of Sabarkantha in Gujarat. He was a Member of Parliament from 1991 to 1996.
In 2012, Trivedi was appointed as the acting chairman of the Central Bureau of Film and Certification.
DEEPIKA CHIKHLIA
Actor Deepika Chikhlia, who shot to popularity while playing Sita, set her foot into politics in 1991, going on to become a BJP MP from Baroda.
In an interview with Outlook a few years ago, she expressed that she left politics after her daughter was born because she needed to spend time at home.
The actor also told a publication she chose the BJP because her grandfather had been an active member of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).
“So, I had an RSS root in my family,”The Metrognome quoted her saying.
DARA SINGH
Late Dara Singh, an esteemed wrestler and an actor who played the role of Hanuman and was part of Hindi and Punjabi cinema, also made a mark in public life when he became the first sportsperson to be nominated for the Rajya Sabha.
The 84-year-old was a devoted BJP supporter and had campaigned for the party in several elections.
After his demise, various veteran BJP leaders condoled Singh’s passing away.
BJP President Nitin Gadkari had said, "The 84-year-old wrestling giant and a versatile film actor was a staunch BJP supporter and had campaigned for the party in several elections. His death was a great loss to the nation.”
The party’s Parliamentary Party chief L K Advani also paid condolences to Singh.
BJP’s Connection With Mahabharata
Several actors from the Hindu epic Mahabharata also had stints with the BJP.
Seen in the role of Lord Krishna in BR Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’, Nitish Bharadwaj became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1995, and went to the Lok Sabha from Jamshedpur.
Roopa Ganguly, who played Draupadi in Mahabharat in 1998, was handed the party flag in 2015 by then Union finance minister late Arun Jaitley, formally inducting her into the party.
Gajendra Chauhan, who played the part of Yudhisthir, became a member in 2004.
Twitter on Govil Joining BJP
Following Govil’s entry into politics and his BJP party ticket, users on Twitter reacted to the new development by pointing out the ruling party’s history of recruiting Ramayan actors.