Shatrughan sinha's son, luv, joins the fray in bihar

Ali Peter John

Some 60 years ago, a group of young men and women from the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) landed in Bombay to try their luck in films. They were a part of the first batch of FTII students, and they were to be found all over the city, looking for that elusive break. Shatrughan Sinha, a young man from Bihar, who had no makings of an actor or a star, was one of them.

He was also one of the first to get a break in films when Dev Ansnd discovered him and gave him a minor role in a film called "Gambler". And the man made his mark with just one appearance and two lines of dialogue.

He went on to become one of the leading villains of the time and became so popular with the masses that they cheered him even when he played the bad guy, and jeered the heroes who beat him up. The film press gave him the name, Shotgun, and he found a place in the pages of every film magazine in the country, and his quotes became a part of every household.

He was still on top as a villain when he decided to change tracks and started playing the hero. He was popular, but he couldn't work the same magic that he did when he played the villain. But he continued to make headlines with his affairs and other stories which the press and the masses lapped up.

He married a top model, Poonam Chandiramani, and from a rented room called "Devdoot", he moved into his own bungalow called "Ramayan". His brothers were Bharat Sinha and Dr Lakhan Sinha.

He had twins called Luv and Kush, and a daughter called Sonakshi. Luv grew up to be an actor and worked in films like "Sadiyaan" and "Paltan", which were box office disasters. But his daughter Sonakshi turned out to be a very big star.

When Shatru (Enemy) found himself on shaky grounds as a star, he switched to politics, first as a star campaigner for the BJP, and then as a Lok Sabha candidate from New Delhi. The first time, he was defeated by his own colleague, Rajesh Khanna, who had run as a Congress candidate. And then he won back the seat, beating Rajesh Khanna.

The BJP and the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, were so happy that Shatrughan was given a berth as a Union Minister. He traveled in bullet-proof cars, with commandos looking after his security. He used to wear a dhoti and kurta and greeted people with "Jai Shri Ram".

I was in Chennai for the Screen Awards for the film industry in the South. Shatrughan was in Chennai shooting for a film. I called him and went to his hotel to invite him for the Awards function. He was dressed in his typical "leader" outfit, with his commandos following him. He asked to be excused and went into a room in his hotel suite. When he returned, he was dressed in a stylish T shirt, jeans and boots.

I looked at him and asked him how he had changed in a few minutes. He said, "That was my political avatar, this is the real me." And he came to the function like the hero that he was and was greeted by all the stalwarts of the South.

His career as an actor was still not doing well, and he found himself out of place in the BJP. He quit the party to join the Congress and praised the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. However, he lost the election when he contested from the Patna Saheb seat in Bihar. Since then, he has been carrying out a consistent campaign against the BJP.

The Bihari babu, as he is popularly known, is now back in the news, with his son, Luv, contesting as a Congress candidate in the Bihar Assembly elections. The entire family has pitched camp in Bihar to campaign for him, and the father is leaving no stone unturned to lead his son to victory. Will the father see his favourite dream come true? And will the son succeed in doing for Bihar what his father could not?