Oops! In Tamil Nadu, Kasturi 'paati' is the face of both DMK, AIADMK campaigns

Elections in Tamil Nadu are lively, exciting and sometimes funny too. In what can be termed as a comedy of errors, an old lady has featured simultaneously in the election ads of both Dravidian arch-rivals — DMK and AIADMK. This was pointed out in social media circles, catapulting her to instant fame. The lady , a 67 year-old small time actress GT Kasturi, however claims that she never knew she was acting for a party election video. The woman was quoted as saying by NDTV that she was not told that the shoot was for “the two-leaves party” (AIADMK), and that she was under the impression that it was for a short film. In fact, when she was later approached by the DMK, she told them she had already done an “Amma canteen shoot” but the party roped her in anyway.  

According to The Hindu, “Kasturi paati”, as she is popularly known, was paid Rs 1,500 for the AIADMK promo and Rs 1,000 for the DMK promo. While in the AIADMK ad, she is seen endorsing the Annadanam scheme, in arch-rival DMK’s ad, she is seen lamenting the bad governance of the current dispensation.

GT Kasturi, alias “Kasturi paati” is not new to acting. She has acted in over 300 movies, reprising small roles, says The Hindu. In a context where the two Dravidian parties’ manifestos are barely distinguishable , the two advertisements can only serve to confuse the voter further.