Govt to Babus: Keep Away from Grease Paint

M D Riti

You can't be an officer and an actor.

At least not if you are in Karnataka. The Karnataka government just suspended police Inspector B C Patil of Karwar for acting in Kannada films.

The letter from Director General of Police C Dinakar was delivered to Patil, who is probably better known as an actor than as a cop, by Assistant Commissioner of Police Thimme Gowda of Madivala in Bangalore. It goes on to say that Patil has been suspended for 'acting in films without intimating the Government.' Patil has been on leave at loss of pay for the last two years.

Patil's suspension has added fuel to the debate on whether government officers should be allowed to act in films or not. Just before he retired in December 2000, outgoing chief secretary Bhattacharya announced at a seminar that the Karnataka government would come down heavily on serving government officers who were also acting in films.

His announcement sparked off a lively debate on the issue in the Kannada film industry, which has a fair number of policemen and administrative officers producing films, directing them and, of course, acting in them as well. Those who are producers usually back films in the names of spouses or other family members as it is banned for serving officers to have business interests of this kind.

Interestingly, PI Patil had submitted a request for voluntary requirement in the third week of December. A little over a month later, he was served the suspension notice. As soon as he did so, a Corps of Detectives Enquiry was set up to look into his case, and this ended with Patil being suspended.

Now, Patil's supporters in the police force make two points in his defence. Firstly, they argue that he has won state government awards for making sensible films. How could the same government alternately reward and punish him for the same thing? Secondly, would the government now give him a backlog of two years of pay, if his suspension is only effective as of now, as he has been on leave at loss of pay for that much time?

Patil has been acting in Kannada films for eight years now. Now, he points out that sportsmen get so many benefits, even get government jobs, because of their proficiency in sports. Why should successful film actors not be accorded the same privileges, he asks? Or at least allowed retaining their jobs, and acting on leave at loss of pay.

Government officers, including those in police service, who support the tough stand against their colleagues, point out that acting is a full time job. An actor must be on location until a film is completed. How can they function effectively or be given responsible posts if they have to go away for weeks on end? Besides, officers might misuse their positions to get benefits for their commercial enterprise, they argue.

The police department is, by far, the government department that has the largest number of personnel involved in careers in cinema and theatre. Magadi Traffic Inspector Ishwar Prasad has acted in Patil's film Dalavaayi and also in a television serial. DCP Prakash has acted in two Tulu films. Constable Honnayya has acted in Paapigala Loka, Dalavaayi and Kurigalu Saar Kurigalu. Constable Ramachandrappa has done small parts in over 30 films. Sub Inspector Pasha of the RMC yard in Yeshwantpur has acted in films like Nirbandha and Kaurava.

Former police commissioner Revansiddiah himself acted in Maha Edibidangi. It was during his tenure that police officers like Patil could make merry in cinema. Then, there is Kuppaswamy, a constable attached to the police control room, who has done small parts in films. So has Jagadeesh. The list goes on and on. All these men point out that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board gave its employee B L Suresh 15 days special leave almost every year to act in radio and television serials.

This entire debate has raised several pertinent questions. Should this ban only pertain to films, or to television serials and plays as well? Many government personnel dabble in theatre, and have always enjoyed that extra special status for doing so. Will this too change now?

Also, the Karnataka government has said something, rather ambiguously, about approving of its employees acting in artistic films. But who is to decide whether a movie is artistic or not? So far, it has been said that government employees should not take money for indulging in hobbies like acting in films. But everyone knows that government employees have lucrative hobbies like giving tuitions or offering other services.

Finally, should these rules apply only to those in government service or to MLAs and such elected representatives as well? After all, these men and women are supposed to devote large chunks of their time to serving the people who elected them. They cannot afford to neglect their electorate or their other duties for weeks at a time. However, everyone knows that several politicians in Karnataka are also actors, like Yogeshwar, MLA, Vasant Kumar Bangarappa, minister and Shashi Kumar, MP. Only Vasant Kumar is not really active in films any longer.