Reel life comes true: Actor Jagadish all set to contest polls

Thiruvananthapuram, March 3 

Once cast in the main role of a common man who accidentally ends up being the home minister of Kerala, comedian and character actor Jagadish may well have a chance to realise something similar in real life.

"Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans", a Malayalam political film released in 1993, came to mind when the media reported on Wednesday that the Congress party could field Jagadish in Pathanapuram constituency of the state assembly in the next elections.

In the film, Jagadish essayed the role of Gopalakrishnan, a young man from a middle class neighbourhood who becomes a surprise candidate in an assembly seat that falls vacant on the death of a minister. 

He not only wins the seat, but also becomes the home minister. He then wins the heart of the chief minister by measures that make policing system efficient.

Jagadish, 60, who has acted in more than 325 films, told IANS that he got a call from state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran. 

"I got a call from state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran. Since my name started to come out in the media from yesterday, I have been flooded with calls, wishing me all the best," said the actor.

Jagadish began his career as a colleague of Congress leader A.K. Antony's wife at a leading public sector bank. He later became a commerce lecturer in a college from where he took long leave to start acting in films. He subsequently became a fulltime film actor.

His first film was "My Dear Kuttichathan", released in 1984. Since then he has been an integral part of the Malayalam film industry, doing numerous characters, most of which were those with a good sense of humour.

His most popular films include "Hitler", "Kunikite Kozhi", "Vandanam", "Harihar Nagar" and its two sequels.

In Pathanapuram constituency in Kollam district, he is likely to be pitted against former state minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, another film actor.

Ganesh Kumar, who has been representing the constituency since 2001, is the lone legislator of the Kerala Congress-Pillai. 

"Yes, he is my colleague in the film industry and if I am fielded there, I intend to have a keen political fight," said Jagadish.

Jagadish had campaigned in the 2011 assembly polls for a number of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidates.