From Kollywood to Bollywood, some of cinema’s greatest legends have found themselves enthralled by politics, and this 2009 general election is no exception. Where Chennai has actor Vijayakanth, the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), is campaigning furiously, Mumbai has Sanjay Dutt on the Samajwadi Party ticket. And Tollywood’s shining star on the campaign trail is none other than Chiranjeevi, the founder of Praja Rajyam.

There’s no overlooking the mass appeal of these actors and actresses. One has to only study the charismatic M.G. Ramachandran, arguably the first movie star-politician, to understand this phenomenon. And who can deny that N.T. Rama Rao’s larger-than-life movie portrayals probably provided the impetus he needed to become the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh barely nine months after floating the Telugu Desam Party.

Of course, some of India’s most memorable politicians are cine actors. Take for instance Sunil Dutt, who not only worked tirelessly for his beloved Mumbai, but went on to become the cabinet minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government. Even Amitabh Bachchan was bitten by the politics bug in 1984 when he contested the Lok Sabha election from his native Allahabad.

The annals of politics are rife with actors and actresses who sought to make their mark on the political map. Some made it with aplomb, some simply bombed. From the indomitable J. Jayalalitha to newbies like Amisha Patel, film stars have long been making the journey from the silver screen to the dusty streets for politics. So this General Election, watch out your favorite stars enacting on a different platform.