Do Not Laugh At Cinema Politics
Sri Lankans should not laugh at Tamil Nadu’s cinema politics.
We have our own theatre.
We have flags, songs, war memories, religious robes, family names, village stages, television speeches, strongman poses, funeral politics, and saviour stories.
Cinema is only one kind of theatre.
Politics everywhere uses performance. The question is not whether a leader performs. All leaders perform.
The question is whether there is anything solid behind the performance.
A poster can make people look.
A speech can make people clap.
A song can make people cry.
A film hero can make people hope.
But none of that fixes a broken school. None of that pays a debt. None of that makes a corrupt office honest. None of that brings down the price of food.
The image can open the door.
The work begins after that.
