Urmila Matondkar says had offers from BJP too; joined politics because India moving from democracy to dictatorship

Urmila Matondkar is the Congress candidate from Mumbai North. In an interview to ET, she says how she had offers from the BJP and Congress earlier as well, and why she rejected them.

The 'Rangeela' actress also reiterates that she is not just a pretty face.

Excerpts from the interview:

What made you join politics? Was there anything that triggered it?
There was no trigger. Over the last four-and-a-half, five years, there have been many issues where a normal person is forced to think about what is happening in the country.


In 2014, all those humongous promises were made that turned out to be extremely impractical and unattainable. I was also one of those who had hoped that they would be achieved. Things like intellectuals being killed in broad daylight - Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare - and incidents related to extreme religious intolerance that have not only grown abundantly in the country but are highlighted and celebrated even. These were very disturbing, and we are slowly moving from a democratic country to a dictatorship and that is very unsettling.


So the murder of intellectuals was the clincher that pushed you into politics?
Definitely. Four-and-a-half years and the government has done nothing about it, and the fact that the absolute mandate by the people in 2014 was unprecedented in recent times placed a huge responsibility on the government and it should have delivered. I just wanted to create awareness on all these things. I didn’t even want to join any party but the thing is you get a bigger platform to reach out to people. I also ideally didn’t want to contest elections, but when you join a party it’s a decision of the party then you go with it.

We heard that you had approached the Congress party for a ticket?
No, I had never approached the Congress party. In the last 15 to 17 years almost every party has approached me to join them, including the BJP.

When did the BJP approach you?
I don’t want to get into that as it is not politically correct and that is the last thing I would do. I know that I have always been correct about this. That’s why I didn’t want to name any party, because it is like speaking about the movies that you refused to do.

Why did you refuse?
I refused because I didn’t want to get into politics. I thought at the time that I didn’t belong here. Since 2014, however, a lot of things have changed and I have come to a point where I believe instead of sitting passively it is better to take a stand and do your bit before it is too late.

The film industry is generally a bit reticent on taking up social issues. Comment.
They are the most vulnerable in that sense because their entire career depends on people. It is also very short-lived, so they don’t want to do anything that would upset the status quo. I come from a family that is academically inclined, and socially and politically aware. I was brought up believing that no matter what field you choose, you need to do your bit for society. We don’t celebrate birthdays in our family; the money was always given towards social causes.

What was your reaction when Modi come to power?
I had hope. I also attended their 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' event, which was totally on a charitable basis. I had to fly on my own and wasted my day. I am using my words carefully and calling it a waste because none of those projects ever took off. Crores of taxpayers’ money have gone into it and no one is supposed to ask any questions about what happened to the money.

I believe in the campaigns against female infanticide, who would not want a Swacch Bharat, who wouldn’t want a Make in India, but did any of these happen? You are anti-national if you question the government on promises not delivered. How can it happen that all of the government schemes have been failures? The cherry on the top is the growing intolerance in society.

Have you also been targeted with regard to your marriage and been attacked personally?
Have been facing attacks ever since I joined the Congress. I was never on social media except Instagram. How come before that each and every post of mine hardly got any negative comment? But after i joined the Congress, each and every post has got multitude of comments that are all extremely hateful and negative. It has gone to the extent that if it’s my mother’s birthday and there is a post of my mother cutting a cake, she, too, is trolled.

Your campaign has been by far the best, say Congress leaders in Mumbai. What are you doing differently?
My campaign is based on my honesty and integrity. Second, I have not approached politics as a star. I am not naive or stupid enough to imagine that people are just going to look at my face and vote for me. You are dealing with people’s lives, their hopes and aspirations. I have tried to generate hope and trust as a person.

Has your background in cinema been used against you by your rivals?
I have been called a political zero by my rival; ticket has been given to me just on my face. He has been making such statements but then claims he is just fighting on ideology. It shows his level of thinking. At one point, he takes me down by saying I am an actress and then he brings in an actor Manoj Tiwary to campaign for him.

The BJP has been talking of how Rahul doesn’t measure up to Modi. Your comment?
Lakhs of crores of rupees have been spent on branding of this party and therefore they are branding it as the real thing. Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother died in a hail of bullets, his father fell victim to a horrible act of terrorism. Has that man come to you and begged you for your vote on the basis of all of this? BJP is making an emotional issue out of everything. Their PM candidate claims he has not taken a holiday. Is this an issue? They bring up such nonsensical issues that have nothing to do with what was promised for the development of the country.

The entire media is taken over by the BJP, therefore big issues are covered up and something like Sridevi’s death is highlighted.
In which country does it happen that a man who has taken crores of rupees of the country and has run away to another country is not talked about, yet news of Sridevi’s death overshadows that.

Are you saying that Sridevi's death was deliberately highlighted?
That was completely given way more importance by the media during that time. Completely showing it 24/7, you are showing about Sridevi’s death instead of a BJP Rajya Sabha MP who crushed nine children under his car. At the same time the Nirav Modi scam had come out, but overnight that was out of the channels.

Not many Congress leaders wanted to contest in this seat because of the huge margin that the BJP candidate won last time?
The BJP MP had to drink water filled with worms in a colony recently. Why would he need to do that if his work was effective in the first place? A person is big if his work is big.

Do you believe there would be surprise for those who have written you off?
I hope so. I am certainly working towards it. Because I have never gone to a battlefield thinking that I will lose.