Funny Business

In 2005, businessman Khalid Noor made his campaign debut as Bihar’s Osama. Bearing a close resemblance to the slain al-Qaeda leader, he was first used by Ram Vilas Paswan and later, by Lalu Prasad Yadav to woo the Muslim electorate in the Assembly elections. In the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections in 2012, Narendra Modi lashed out at the Bihar government in his rallies. In speeches laden with accusations against Nitish Kumar’s administration, the little-known Osama impersonator was also criticised.

This year, Khalid Noor is sitting out of the elections, forgotten by all parties. However, Abhinandan Pathak, a Modi lookalike, has found his moment in the sun. The Saharanpur-based Pathak is now on a three-month tour of India to campaign for Modi, calling himself ‘Junior Modi’.

While Pathak may be running a personal campaign for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, in Tamil Nadu, political parties have hired lookalikes to manage roadshows and rallies. In 2000, Robo Sathish started an event management company called Every Second. “We organised song and dance shows. That’s how I got my name (Robo). I was a robotic dancer,” Sathish says.

A few years later, while watching Super Duper , a show on Sun TV, he was struck by the political impersonators on stage. Today, he employs MGR, Vijayakanth and Jayalalithaa lookalikes for shows across Tamil Nadu. “During elections, parties hire my services mainly to draw crowds,” he says. “These days, I hold about five to six shows per day, it’s a busy time.” The Jayalalithaa lookalike, he says, doesn’t speak. “Her husband doesn’t allow her to interact.” With the AIADMK’s tacit support, Amma’s lookalike meets and greets supporters, smiling and waving.

MGR and Vijayakanth impersonators, however, do a little bit more — they sing their most famous songs and mimic their mannerisms as crowds go wild. PRM Thyagarajan aka MGR, is much sought after for his spot-on imitation of the legendary leader. “I started with MGR songs in ’90s, and began imitating his gestures later,” says Thyagarajan. Kumar, a Vijayakanth lookalike, doesn’t even have to wear make-up to look like the Captain. “I have appeared in more than 2,000 shows as Vijayakanth,” says Kumar, who started campaigning for DMDK at the Captain’s rallies in March.

In a State overrun with MGR impersonators — there are at least 250 — the demand is now for DMK president Karunanidhi, whose public appearances have dropped considerably. “I keep getting calls for his doubles,” says Sathish, “The problem is finding convincing ones.”