The ruling AIADMK maybe in the midst of a political tug of war, but one MLA is busy receiving congratulatory messages for his dance, in this time of distress.
A video of Kavundampalayam MLA Aarukutty dancing to the hit Malayalam song 'Jimikki Kammal' has taken social media by storm. Except, the performance was from five months ago, when Aarukutty along with a troupe of dancers campaigned during the RK Nagar bye-elections. And while the old video was set to the 'Jimikki Kammal' track, the AIADMK MLA sure doesn’t miss a beat.
Who is Aarukutty?
Aarukutty, who switched from the O Panneerselvam to the Edappadi Palaniswami camp shortly before the two factions merged can be seen dancing with members of his 'Jamap' troupe.
He founded the group in 1972 and the team of 150 dancers stick to traditional forms of dance such as Oyilattam. Aarukutty, who foraged into the world of dancing at the age of 12, began performing at political events when he joined the DMK.
"I left the party with MGR when it split. But we began performing extensively when Amma took over as General Secretary of the party. We would go all over Tamil Nadu and perform wherever she held meeting," recalls the MLA. "In 1991, we would dance at all election campaigns and Amma would personally express her joy regarding the dance to me," Aarukutty adds.
In fact, the MLA says it was his dancing skills that earned him a party ticket in the Assembly Elections in 2011. "I became very popular among the cadre because I would lead the dance. It gave me a lot of recognition," he explains. "In 2011, she (Jayalalithaa) summoned me and told me to stand for elections," he adds.
In Tamil Nadu, song and dance is an important part of election campaigning. Performers from across the state, entertain the audience with tunes from MGR movies and dance programmes to keep their attention. "It is very important to have such performances at election rallies. If you just come there and say vote for me nobody will remember you. But when you entertain them, voters won't forget," Aarukutty explains.
With his busy schedule now, the two-time MLA does not have much time to take part in performances. "But even now, if given a chance I would love to dance for any party event," he says.