Bollywood Movie Glamor Queen of Yore Rekha Got Nominated Too!

So intense was the media rage about Sachin Tendulkar possibly becoming a politician that other aspects of the same story got sidelined. The Government of India on April 26, 2012 nominated two more personalities apart from Tendulkar to Rajya Sabha (RS)—the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Rekha, the superstar heroine of Hindi Cinema of yesteryear, and Anu Aga, a social worker-writer-businesswoman, got nominated too.

Rekha had been the unforgettable actress of the seventies-eighties with loads of glamor and she made waves portraying all kinds of lead roles ranging from sweet next-door girl to roles of tremendous depth and versatility. Tall and attractive, an expert dancer, enriched with a resonant voice and in-born acting skills, Rekha captivated the moviegoers of all age groups in those good old days. From the beginning of the nineties Rekha’s image of a heroine witnessed a declining trend thanks to her refusal to do character roles. Though she started doing select character roles from 2000 onwards her popularity did not pick up and her appearances got restricted to mostly award shows. But the Rekha of yore is still firmly embedded in the minds of Indian moviegoers. RS nomination gives Rekha one more responsible role.

Now, the buzz was not at all about Rekha possibly becoming a politician. The simple reason could be that she is no longer active in her profession while Tendulkar has been not only active but has been riding on the emotions of millions as the ultimate hero. Expectations are continuously being heaped on him and these relate to more and more of cricket heroics. Therefore, becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) was not at all in the celebrity agenda decided by his fans.

Does this mean that taking the profession of a politician is okay as retirement planning or benefit? I feel this is ‘mean’. We are in the largest democracy of the world and here everyone has the freedom of choosing his/her career/profession—let it be that of a police constable or a politician. Though basically nominations to RS ought to be viewed as honors conferred on worthy persons by the Government, questions are also being raised about how much justice such celebrities could do to the new roles of MP. This is simply a matter of expert time management and nobody has the right to interfere in this personal domain. Building a legendary cricket career over more than two decades Tendulkar must be well versed with the requirements of time management and even if he is not so sure he can easily do a crash course in time management to get ready for new responsibilities.

True, the political class has drawn a lot of public wrath since the Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 and the unending stream of scams after that. But there are good and efficient people in politics too and there is absolutely no harm in more joining. Besides, one’s opposition becomes subjective and relative, because the opposing groups or individuals or rival political parties might be biased or prejudiced against a certain political party. One must also remember that fight against corruption does not cover only the politicians; it covers all of society from the government, corporate, private to the individual sectors. Good and bad exist in every field of activity and every walk of life on our planet of imperfections.

Essentially, what has been happening since yesterday concerning Sachin Tendulkar’s nomination can in fact be called the politics of the worst kind!