16 May,2014 08:09 AM IST | | Asira Tarannum
On election results day, we look at likely and unlikely corners of support within the film industry for different political parties and who is Bollywood expecting to win today
Vishal Dadlani, Raveena Tandon, Vivek Oberoi, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Mahesh Bhatt
With the election results being announced today, it is interesting to note what tinsel town has to say about Lok Sabha polls this year. While some stars such as Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna and Raj Babbar have contested elections, some others have openly supported political parties.
Writer Salim Khan launched a website on Narendra Modi in Urdu at his Bandra residence. Pic/Suresh KK
Cases in point include Salman Khan who had recently supported Narendra Modi and Aamir Khan, who is known to have supported the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Gul Panag contested elections from Chandigarh as an Aam Adami Party candidate. Pic/PTI
hitlist speaks to industry people to get an idea about their political leanings...
Actor Vivek Oberoi, who is supporting Narendra Modi, says, "It's obvious that NaMo will win. We need a government that thinks about progress and development and shuts all paths that lead to corruption.
Actor Vivek Oberoi is openly supporting Narendra Modi, as he believes that the latter has the will to work for the nation and provide growth and stability to the people.
India needs a political leader who has the will to work for the nation, and provide growth and stability to its people. I have interacted with him and have been campaigning for him all over and I don't think he is a communal person."
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who recently won the National Award for the film, Shahid, openly supports AAP. He says, "I do not support a political party, rather I support a movement that has risen out of frustration. It's a new voice and it's not an ideology yet. So far, our country has only seen two centres of power but now it's time for a third voice."
When asked about who he thinks will win, Mehta says that the polls are dictated by the selective majority. "If more people have voted for someone, then as a citizen of the country, I will respect that mandate. I just hope that the doubts I had while opposing Mr Modi are unfounded. I don't want to live in fear of his supposedly communal tendencies."
Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt points out that he has always taken an anti-right wing stand and he will continue to do so, irrespective of who comes to power. "Never mind the exit polls. They won't affect my political leanings that are known to the world.
I have been very consistent about the same because I vehemently oppose anything that goes against the plurality of India. So yes, I support Gandhian ideology," he says.
Actress Tejaswini Kolhapure vouches for the power of AAP. "I am hoping that the Aam Aadmi Party is voted to the centre.
I personally feel that like last time, it will be a coalition rule and not a single party majority as predicted by exit polls. I think that our country wants a change now; we need to prosper," she says.
Director Vivek Agnihotri says, "My real concern is that I want to see a developed and powerful India. Rahul Gandhi is not a promising candidate, as he doesn't have a successful track record.
On the other hand, Modi had a track record to show, so I decided to support him. We must keep in mind our priority, which is empowering people. Seventy five percent of our population doesn't have basic rights. We need to think about those people."
