Box office politics: Poll campaigns in Kerala go cinematic

KOCHI: In a state where literacy is high and cinema is a cultural cornerstone, the distance between the movie screen and the voting booth has rarely felt shorter. As campaigning gathers pace, leaders across various political fronts are turning to film dialogues and parody songs to add wit and punch to their speeches. One of the campaign's most talked-about moments came from Telegana CM Revanth Reddy, who, while campaigning for UDF candidate K S Sabarinadhan in Nemom, tapped into the enduring popularity of Narasimham. Taking aim at CM Pinarayi Vijayan, he deployed the film's punchline—"Nee po mone Dinesha." The dismissive flourish was meant to cast the LDF govt as an exhausted force nearing its end. The response was swift and sharp. Vijayan's retort, directed at Reddy in unusually harsh language, sparked backlash, with opposition leader V D Satheesan accusing the chief minister of losing composure. In a letter to Reddy, Vijayan also listed out Kerala's social development indicators against Telangana's, turning a film reference into a policy argument. If Reddy leaned on nostalgia, Rahul Gandhi chose satire. During recent campaign stops, he deployed humour, reciting lyrics from a viral parody song— "Swarnam Kattathu aarappa?" (Who stole the gold?)—to press the Sabarimala gold-theft allegations against LDF. The performance was light in tone but pointed in intent and designed for the rally crowd. PM Narendra Modi, .pically known for his formal "Ente priyapetta sahodaree sahodaranmare" opener, wove in a more evocative image at his Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam rallies, describing the sea as "Amma," evoking the mood of classics like Chemmeen to connect with coastal communities. His cabinet colleagues like Amit Shah has peppered speeches with Malayalam phrases such as "kusruthi" (mischief), framing the LDF-UDF rivalry as "adjustment politics"—a familiar trope in Kerala's political satire, where rivals are cast as covert allies. Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, has blended language and symbolism, calling for an "azhuchupani" (overhaul) and invoking "vishwasam" (faith) while referencing the Sabarimala controversy. He repurposed the state's own tourism tagline against it, suggesting that under the current administration, even God was not safe in "God's Own Country." Beyond speeches, LDF's social media machinery uses background scores from films like Lucifer and Bheeshma Parvam to elevate campaign narratives. When RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav campaigned in north Kerala, party workers recast him in stylised reels as an "Ottayal Porali"—a lone fighter—for his defiance back in Bihar against the federal investigations. For national leaders, a well-placed Malayalam reference signals cultural fluency—proof that they have done their homework. For local politicians, it humanises and sharpens their appeal, ensuring speeches travel beyond the rally ground into the fast-moving circuits of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.