Many, many years ago a journalist friend of mine who wrote film reviews for the newspapers asked me to accompany him to a movie. “No!” I told him. “Why not?” he asked me and before I could answer, he said, “Bob, when you watch a film, move into the world of make believe!”

I’ve never forgotten those words and today as I watch what’s happening on our giant election screen I’m sure political leaders overheard those same words told to me many moons ago, because what I see on the election front is a world of make believe created to con, fool, and trick every voter in this huge, gigantic theatre called India. “Fool the electorate, con the voter into the world of make believe!”

How else do you explain hordes of film actors, cricketers, crooks and TV stars, put up as candidates?

Do you Mr. Voter actually believe that a drug addict, a criminal who was arrested, jailed and convicted for treason will actually do something for you, because he did so in a film called Munnabhai?

Do you sir or you madam making your way to the polling booth with that sedated look on your face really think that the swashbuckling cricketer from Punjab, very nearly convicted for murder and who shoots his mouth off faster than he ever hit a ball for six will look after your interests in Parliament?

That a woman who won the hearts of millions in a TV serial as a saintly mother in law or is it daughter- in- law will venture into the Lower House, without script or director and speak words on your behalf?

“Sir the sitting candidate has done much work for his constituency!”

“No problem ask Rajnikanth to stand against him or Govinda and they’ll win!”

And these actors, crooks and sportsmen come on stage, flounder, sit perplexed, walk around puzzled: “What are we doing here?”

‘When are we supposed to speak?’ ‘Who are we to speak for?’ ‘What are we supposed to speak about?’ ‘We don’t know our lines!’ ‘No prompter to help us with our dialogues!’ ‘No umpire to tell us where the crease is! No prison warden to tell us how far we can go!’

And we the electorate beam at them, “How tweet she looks in her salwar kameez!” “How macho in his suit!”

Wake up! Open your eyes! The lights are on! The movie is over! It’s time to vote!

Are these the ones you want as your representatives? A Govinda who hardly attended Parliament and who said, “I’m an actor first, a politician second!”

Choose carefully! Don’t get lulled into a make believe world, or you’ll land up with sea links that cause more traffic jams, flyovers that go nowhere, poor who remain poor, jungle law and goonda order, and of course your money which pays for the make believe show, disappearing into wide open pockets..!