Hyderabad, April 16: First came the sound of film music, muffled by the ridge of the hill. Then a convoy appeared around a bend in the road. At once, thousands of people erupted in a frenzy – waving banners, screaming, shouting, rushing towards the vehicles in a crush.
Heading the cavalcade, at the front of an open-topped bus, stood a man in a white shirt, raising his hand and smiling. Chiranjeevi had come to town.
For decades, movie fans in Andhra Pradesh have known Chiranjeevi or Chiru as an on-screen legend, a southern Indian Robin Hood who took on the baddies and rescued the poor.
Today, as India begins a month-long general election – by far the biggest in the world – many in this heartland are looking to the 53-year-old who has made more than 100 movies to become a real-life hero. “We have seen how he is on the screen, now we want him to help run our country,” said Ratna Manikyum, her face fixed in a huge grin despite having waited for her hero in the blistering sun for seven hours. “He must do it in real life too.” In this remarkable election, in which the Indian electorate of around 714 million vote, there are more than 1,000 parties to choose from. Such is the scale that there are five separate polling days staggered over a month. And with a national result – which is likely to see the ruling Congress Party returned with the most seats – not expected until mid-May, for many voters the focus is local.
–Agencies