Join ‘em to change them

Filmmaker Prakash Jha, who���s made a number of films on politics and is now contesting the elections, says that politicians��� screen image will not change unless they do
For years, filmmaker Prakash Jha has made hard-hitting films based on the Indian political system, and over the years, the politicians in his movies, while having their own set of compulsions and motivations, have been shown as corrupt, often criminal.Despite showing the rot in Indian politics, however, the director, who���s from Bihar, entered active politics, and contested as an independent candidate. He lost then, but he���s contesting again, this time as part of the LJP, from Betiah in Bihar.
The reel-ity of politics
Jha���s thought process, he says, has evolved from watching developments in Bihar and in the rest of the country over the years, and he also agrees that the depiction of the politician in cinema hasn���t changed from that of an almost villainous manipulator. ���Finally, cinema is a reflection of society. And yes, the general perception of the politician is still that of a kind of villain ��� corrupt and exploitative. The common man knows that democracy still is only about the elections. Between two elections, there���s no accountability. And then, there are the large number of people with a criminal background who���re still in politics. Cinema only portrays what society perceives and believes,��� he says. This reel image of the neta won���t change either, he adds, till it changes in real life. ���More than anything else, it���s the politicians themselves who���ve painted this picture of themselves. They either are criminals, or are perceived as being criminal. Politics as a profession is perceived as a means to make money, and more often than not, through the wrong means. In films, politicos are either shown as big businessmen, or sons of corrupt politicians, or goons who get rich through politics and nefarious activities. It���s not cinema that dictates opinions ��� it���s what happens on the ground that more or less determines what���s in cinema.���
His cinema, he reiterates, is a result of what he���s seen in his own milieu over years. ���I���ve lived in a society which is extremely volatile and politically active, and I���ve observed and wondered why things happen the way they do, the social relationships of different classes, castes...,��� he says.
Loktantra kya hai?
Divisive politics ��� which he���s exploring in his upcoming Rajniti ��� and religious fanaticism in particular, is a subject close to Prakash���s heart. But what upsets him most is violence in the name of religion. ���It���s mind-boggling to see the number of weapons that have passed into the hands of these fanatic religious groups. It���s a strange kind of politics. Indian democracy, I think, is a term that applies for only one day in five years, when people actually go to vote. On that day, the common man has the power to vote, choose or be misled into choosing whoever is going to lead. The moment he has pressed a button on the EVM, democracy also has slipped out of his hands. There is absolutely no accountability, no process where you can recall or undo that, until five years later.���