Thiruvananthapuram: If humour and a lightness of touch were expected, actor Mukesh disappointed till the last line of his debut speech in the Assembly on Tuesday. And then, after the end, he came back to life. During the discussion on the Budget, Mukesh read out his speech studiously from a written text. Even the lone sarcastic comment inserted into the text, a reference to the ‘laddoo’ distribution on a previous Budget day, was read out like a politician who had no clue what the words written for him actually meant.
It looked as if Mukesh focused more on getting the pronunciation of some of the speech-writer’s sophisticated words right. As is usual for ruling bench MLAs during a discussion on the Budget, Mukesh lauded finance minister Thomas Isaac's proposals. As if to remind the House of his roots, he also called for industry status for cinema. Finally, seconds to go before his allotted 10 minutes, he placed the sheaf of papers aside, looked up at the Speaker, and became Mukesh.
“I feel happy to have talked so long without a single retake, and that too without someone yelling ‘start, action, camera’,” he said. “Sir, I am not used to your call to ‘conclude’. For me to stop, someone has to say ‘cut’,” Mukesh said. The House, too, suddenly came to life.
