Little work for lookalikes this season

TIRUCHI: MGR is yet to get the nod from his partymen to commence campaigning. Sitting in his house in Sengulam colony in Tiruchi, 40-year-old K Marimuthu, who is a lookalike of the iconic AIADMK founder and actor, says no one has called him to participate in campaign meetings yet.
Marimuthu is usually on stage ahead of any election imitating the dance movements of MGR at party meetings or walking down village streets with AIADMK cadre asking for votes.On stage, he's dressed as the film star, on the streets he wears the fur cap and trademark dark glasses of the late leader.
The two Dravidian parties DMK and AIADMK who have a strong background of stage plays and cinema, lookalikes still form a major part of their campaigns. Though resemblance to top leaders is the key to the success of lookalikes, ingenuity in imitating leaders also adds to their popularity. There are about 35 people in Tiruchi, Madurai, Kumbakonam, Chennai and Salem resembling M G R and around 20 lookalikes of Karunanidhi. "There are very few women who play the role of Jayalalithaa," says a M G Mustafa, an MGR from Puducherry.
But this time, Marimuthu and his friends MGR' Srinivasan and MGR' Raghu are all wondering whether they will get any work. "There are just 20 days for the election and I haven't done any campaigns yet. During the 2009 parliamentary elections, I did 30 events across Tamil Nadu," says Marimuthu.
The lookalikes say that the run-up to the election was so short that the parties do not have much time for campaigning. "Parties have just completed seat sharing arrangements. We hope to get offers in the coming days," says Srinivasan, who claims to have quit smoking after he playing MGR.
Mustafa says that he played the Puratchi Thalaivar' for 40 days in row during the last Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. "This year, I haven't received a single order. I have worked for four assembly elections and as many Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. Sometimes we are roped in even before candidates are announced," he says.
Though lack of work is a cause of concern, the men keep busy thanks to temple festivals. "We get offers to play in temples three or four times a month. But that is nothing compared to the continuous work for 30 or 40 days during elections," says Marimuthu. They earn Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 a show, depending on the generosity of the organisers. Marimuthu has sent CDs of his earlier performances to partymen hoping to impress them.
"Money is not the only factor. The satisfaction we derive by playing the great leaders is boundless. The hope that at least few people might vote the party that we represent after viewing our performance drives us," says S Durairaj, a Karunanidhi lookalike.