AIADMK and DMK use same audio for latest political fight on social media

CHENNAI: A song from the 1954 movie Malaikallan featuring late chief minister MG Ramachandran, 'Innum ethanai kaalam thaan ematruvar intha naatiley (How much longer will they cheat the people of our country)', has been appropriated by the supporters of both AIADMK and DMK for a political slugfest on social media. Both groups' supporters are using the audio of the same song along with visuals of Tamil Nadu CM and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa or DMK chief M Karunanidhi to point fingers at the rival leader.

The AIADMK camp's video shows visuals of Karunanidhi, portraying him as the leader who allegedly cheated the people of Tamil Nadu while dealing with the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils during his previous term as the chief minister. The DMK camp, on the other hand, has visuals of Jayalalithaa and her close aide Sasikala together attending the lavish wedding of the former's foster son in 1995.

Both videos use the same song, which was the first to be sung by TM Soundararajan for MGR, who in his off-screen life had just joined the DMK after leaving the Congress. Several years later, MGR split from the DMK and launched ADMK, which was to be later led by his co-actor in many films, J Jayalalithaa. Analysts, however, said that the supporters of both the parties may have overlooked the political disconnect while latching on to this song. Writer and political analyst Vaasanthi said, “For people who have access to these WhatsApp and internet videos, there is a possibility that this message may boomerang, with them finding both parties undesirable.“

Malaikallan was released in the second half of 1954. This was when Kamaraj had become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, taking over from C Rajagopalachari. Kamaraj was spearheading a revolution of sorts in the field of education in the state by making school education free and combining it with the mid-day meal scheme.

The original score, which does not even have a hint of political attribution, was the first one in an MGR film with a dash of social message through a song. Singer Soundararajan went on to sing a series of such message-laden songs for MGR after this song. And these songs became vital props that helped MGR cement his fan following and retain chief ministership in the state for about a decade.

The song had come out when there was no DMK. It almost became a cult song when MGR and Karunanidhi, icons of today's warring parties, were on the same side, busy setting the stage for a political movement that would hold sway in the state for over 50 years.