Film lines on lips, Tapas seeks votes in rural belt

KRISHNAGAR: Long before Shahrukh Khan's Suri revived the archetype of the do-gooder in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Tapas Pal had etched it in the hearts of Bengalis with Dadar Kirti.
Pal's sublime projection of a good man' in numerous Bengali potboilers not only won him critical acclaim but brought with it a mass following that was pegged on his selfless, family-man screen persona.
Now, the Tollywood top gun running on a Trinamool ticket wants to cash in on this boy-next-door image to deliver an electoral blockbuster in the impending Lok Sabha polls at Krishnagar, where he is pitted against incumbent MP Jyotirmoyee Sikdar of the CPM, and former BJP MP Satyabrata Mukherjee.
Everywhere that Pal a serving MLA representing Alipore travels, the intent is to strike a chord with voters through the medium he has mastery over by either ensuring that film titles like Dadar Kirti find mention in his campaign speeches or by humming a few lines of one of his hit songs (Ey amar gurudakshina from the movie Gurudakshina) to reinforce the goodness aspect of characters he has essayed in an almost 30-year career.
Expectedly, Pal whose candidature has not found support with the local Congress leadership in Krishnagar does not delve deep into burning issues and prefers to broadbrush them with the general promise that he would strive for the area's development.
"I am the same man you saw in Dadar Kirti. I can identify with you because I also have rural roots. My father had farmland and I, too, travelled barefoot to school," Pal tells a star-struck gathering at Dhakuriapota village.
The poverty and deprivation (inadequate supply of drinking water, lack of motorable roads, absence of proper job opportunities) seem to have been temporarily forgotten as an entranced audience soaks in every word that Pal speaks from a hoodless Tata vehicle. "I am a soldier. I have strong shoulders to fire the gun that Didi has given me," he hollers, as his large convoy winds its way through the dusty terrain.
"I have seen many of his films and can't believe he is among us," Subhadra Ghosh, a housewife, says, as she tries to outrun others for a better view of the actor. However, no one is willing to admit that Pal would be their choice. "All of them come with promises before the polls, but nothing ever gets done. He is a big star but who knows if he'll also do the same," said farmer Kalipada Ghosh (50).
Pal himself is under no illusion that he can deliver the goods. "I am winning, there is no doubt," he says, as he lashes out at Trinamool workers for not having his food ready after such a hectic campaign.