Chennai: A group of dancers performing on stage to the tune of popular melodies and party songs is a common sight in the state, during election campaign. Such shows are used to gather crowd to public meetings addressed by key leaders of all parties now.
Dance programmes have taken the place of music shows, which were part and parcel of election meetings till a decade ago. Political parties have moved to dances to catch up with the trend in temple festivals and private functions. Junior artistes from Kollywood are booked by party functionaries, who specify the melodies, beside the songs praising their leader to be performed on stage. In between, they perform skits and comedy shows to make fun of rival leaders.
The dance forms are decided by performers according to people’s wishes who seek disco dance to popular kutthattam. According to junior artistes, the rate ranges from Rs 15,000 to 35,000 per day depending on their popularity and demand. When several parties try to book them on the same
time, the artistes could demand more money than usual. The artistes should also speak in praise of the party leaders in between the dances. Kutty Ramya, one of the dancers, said “Dancing on stage for political meetings is easy for us, compared to film shootings. Party functionaries are really decent. They don’t misbehave with us and treat us with respect.
The income in cinema is lesser and we have to share it with brokers. I don’t feel ashamed to dance in front of people. More shameful things happen to us behind the scenes during film shootings”
Stage concerts were ruling the poll campaigns for more than five decades and even the arrival of top political leaders used to be heralded by leading singers. In the late forties, popular singer Nagoor Hanifa used to sing before the speeches of young Karunanidhi, who was slowly emerging as a powerful orator and leader.
The duo grew up together and Hanifa’s songs became prelude to the DMK meetings to gather crowds, besides entertaining the party workers. The song “Odi varugiraan, udhayasooriyan’, (Rising sun is coming to meet you) used to herald the dramatic entry of the DMK leader to the stage for nearly five decades, till the sonorous singer was too ill to perform on stage.
AIADMK too had its set of singers, who reproduced popular film songs of MGR that are closely linked with the political context of the day. Party songs like ‘Vaasalengum rettai ilai kolam idungal’ (Draw two leaves in front of your houses) were also popular songs in the election concerts.
Other parties like the MDMK, an offshoot of the DMK, too followed
the concerned method to draw crowds to its meetings. Vaiko’s party has not fully switched to dances from concerts, while the Left parties have their own cadre performing cultural programmes propagating their ideology.
