Hema Malini can't stop making gaffes

When snapshots shared by Hema Malini from her movie shoot went viral recently, it was not thanks to the popularity of the film star-turned-parliamentarian, or even the beauty of the locales seen in the photos.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP's tweets, hastily-deleted the same day, were declared ill-timed because while she was sailing through the calm waters of Madh Island for the film Ek Thi Rani, her constituency Mathura had been navigating troubled ones. The police there had clashed with squatters (believed to be members of a cult) who were illegally occupying a public park, ultimately resulting in the death of 29 people, including two policemen.
 
As brickbats headed her way, Malini retorted that law and order was the state's responsibility. Yet, she quickly embarked on a visit to the constituency and tweeted regular updates such as: "Met the family members - father, wife, brother and son of superintendent of police, city, Mukul Dwivedi, and expressed my deep grief at their loss." Photos from her shoot were replaced with photos of visits to hospitals, where she checked on the health of injured policemen. She also took the opportunity to mention in tweets her ongoing work in Mathura such as "providing roads and drinking water."

Malini first entered the movie scene in 1968 in Raj Kapoor's Sapnon ka Saudagar. She became widely known as "dream girl", after her appearance in a 1977 film by the same name, and because of her porcelain beauty. With more than 150 films to her credit, the actor endeared herself to audiences as Basanti in Sholay (1975).

In a nation that worships its movie stars, politics often becomes a natural foray for senior actors. Some years after campaigning for fellow actor and BJP candidate Vinod Khanna, Malini joined the party in 2004. In 2014, she was elected to the Lok Sabha after defeating the incumbent MP in Mathura in the general elections. Thereafter, however, she has made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Earlier this year, an RTI query revealed that she had been given a prime piece of land in Mumbai for building a dance school. The land worth Rs 70 crore was given for a sum of Rs 1.75 lakh, allegedly as a favour from the BJP-led government. It was later stated that the price was based on an old government resolution that allows for charging 25 per cent of the ready reckoner rates of 1976 for the use of land for cultural or educational institutions.

Two years ago, Malini said widows from Bihar and West Bengal should not crowd Vrindavan. Upon receiving criticism, she clarified that her statement was aimed at governments of those states that did not offer care for widows, leading to pressure on her constituency. Soon after that, she reportedly also commented that widows have a bank balance and get cheques but beg out of habit.

Last year, while touring Rajasthan, her Mercedes collided with an Alto, injuring passengers in both cars. While Malini was rushed to a private hospital, the family in the Alto reportedly got no immediate attention, and a two-year old girl died as a result. In tweets following the accident, Malini blamed the girl's father, hinting that he had not followed traffic rules. Concerns were raised about why Malini had not helped the family get timely medical assistance. Malini's daughter, Esha Deol, is said to have skipped media events in order to avoid questions about the accident.

As a member of the Lok Sabha so far, Malini's run has been anything but a dream.