#FamJam: Film celebs lean on family on campaign trail
New Delhi:’Dreamgirl’ Hema Malini is a star in her own right, but she brought along her husband Dharmendra, once famous as Bollywood’s ‘He-Man’, for campaigning to boost her prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.
Last month, veteran actor Dharmendra brought his filmy side alive and enthralled the crowd in Mathura with his famous dialogues from the Hindi blockbuster “Sholay” as he campaigned for Hema, who has been loved by film audiences over decades.
Dharmendra used his charisma to appeal to voters to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate’s victory.
Dharmendra also tweeted his support to son Sunny Deol, who has been fielded by the BJP-Akali Dal combine from Gurdaspur, the seat represented four times by yesteryear actor Vinod Khanna, who died in April 2017 due to cancer.
“We are asking for your support. If you support us, the victory will be yours. The victory will be of my brother and sisters of Punjab and the beautiful Gurdaspur,” Dharmendra had tweeted when Sunny had filed his nomination.
Sunny’s younger brother Bobby also stood by him in a show of support as he accompanied him on a road show.
They are not the only examples of film celebrities in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections who are using the star power of their celebrity family members.
For the past three days, actor Anupam Kher has been actively campaigning for his wife and BJP MP Kirron Kher in Chandigarh, where she is seeking re-election. She is pitted against Congress’ Pawan Kumar Bansal, a former Union Minister, and BJP rebel and AAP candidate Harmohan Dhawan.
Anupam has been addressing huge crowds at rallies and road shows. He found the atmosphere “euphoric and electrifying”.
“People are sure who they want to vote for. These elections are about honesty versus dishonesty,” he tweeted.
The “Saaransh” actor is also ensuring personal interaction with people in the city.
“On my morning walk poll campaign for Kirron Kher in Chandigarh, (I) met up with a lot of people. I spoke to a few of them (not the volunteers). Basically, ‘Modi Hai To Mumkin Hai’) chorus is echoing louder. And it is mostly based on the development agenda of Narendra Modi and his government,” he wrote.
Just last week, Sonakshi made a trip to Lucknow to support her mother Poonam Sinha, who is contesting the city’s Lok Sabha seat as a Samajwadi Party candidate.
Sonakshi was accompanied by her brother Kushh Sinha as they campaigned for their mother.
“I was very happy to be in Lucknow with my mother and was overwhelmed with the turnout and support that we saw at our rally. I wasn’t there as a celebrity but in the capacity of a daughter to support her mother,” the “Dabangg” actress said in a statement.
In West Bengal’s Asansol, Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Moon Moon Sen had her actress daughters Raima Sen and Riya Sen campaign for her, as she competes head on with BJP candidate Babul Supriyo.