Tarzan' stands behind fallen Maoists

Condemned by the prime minister of Nepal and the major parties for keeping up their siege of parliament for nearly two months, Nepal's Maoist party has received fresh support from unexpected quarters: Tarzan, the ape man.
Or, to be more accurate, "Iku, the Jungle Man", the Nepali Tarzan who made his debut in the film by the same name last month.
Iku wears a loin cloth of chicken skin, talks a lingo that is not even known to the members of Nepal's parliamentary committee who are currently debating whether all the diverse mother tongues of Nepal's rich variety of ethnic communities should be used as the language of the administration, and hops from tree to tree, leading a life of stark simplicity and goodness.
A hit with Nepali children and now as known a face in Nepal as that of Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda 's, Iku took the plunge into politics on Saturday when along with almost 100 other Nepali cine artistes, directors, singers and technicians, he joined the Maoist party ceremoniously.
Iku is Suleman Shankar in real life, a 25-year-old who was first cast in the role of a primitive jungle man -��� called Iku -��� in a tele serial. The character became so popular that it emboldened the commerce student to decide to produce a film on his own, with Iku as the hero.
Shankar says in his quest to make a film that would entertain kids, he was inspired by the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Krrish, Koi Mil Gaya, also featuring the same star, and the acclaimed Aamir Khan-directed Taare Zamin Par.
Why did he join the Maoists at a time the party is not even in the government?
"It will return to the government one day," Shankar predicts. "None of the other parties ever spared any thought for the Nepali film industry. But the Maoists boosted the industry. Actors too have something to give to society and I hope to be able to do that with the Maoists."
The support of over 100 people, many of whom have a strong fan following, like veteran actor Shiv Regmi and actress Maushumi Malla, is not something that Prachanda will scoff at right now. The charismatic leader who inspired a 10-year war is now facing a rebellion in his own party. As the decision-making unit of the party, the politburo, began chalking its future strategy this month, his proposal to form a national government under the leadership of the Maoist party has met with opposition from the hawks, who are calling for a people's revolution.