Feb. 2: Anupam Kher's brushes with controversy and his vocal support of the Prime Minister have brought into focus the belligerence of a section of a showbiz, which stands out in sharp contrast with the subdued style of actors-turned-politicians of the past.

The latest storm around Kher is the Pakistan visa row, preceded by a Twitter brawl with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and various other battles that the actor fights on TV channel screens.

The fiery words of Kher - who recently bagged the Padma Bhushan - his wife and BJP Lok Sabha member Kirron Kher and party MP Paresh Rawal are unlike those of actors who had come to politics during the years of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Prithviraj Kapoor, Nargis Dutt, Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar drew praise as MPs. Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha proved their mettle as Union ministers, winning admiration from the bureaucracy, intelligentsia and the masses alike.

As Congress MPs, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna kept a low profile. In recent years, Samajwadi MPs Jaya Bachchan and Jaya Prada, and nominated MPs Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, spoke up to protect their turfs or battling orthodox elements.

Kher, respected for his versatility as an actor, sounds provocative on social media these days. He recently said he was "scared to openly say he is a Hindu", prompting the spat with Tharoor who questioned the assertion.

Rawal, also an accomplished actor, took on Aamir Khan since the superstar said his wife had wondered whether they should leave the country because of rising intolerance.

"If I believe this is my motherland then I will never talk about leaving it.... But I would if I had believed otherwise," Rawal had tweeted. In another post, he said: "A true patriot will not run away n leave his motherland behind in turmoil or in troubled times (if any )... Don't escape, build it..."

ABP News recently quoted Rawal as saying that the "whole award wapsi (by writers and artistes to protest intolerance) is a non-issue, absolutely bogus". "Where were they when atrocities against the minorities were committed earlier? Weren't there attacks on freedom of expression earlier? My own (2012) movie Oh My God! was not screened in a number of cities due to various reasons. The whole issue originates due to the constipation in some people's minds regarding Narendra Modi."

Rawal had earlier referred to PK, Aamir's 2014 blockbuster, and claimed it was a hit despite attacking the religious beliefs of the majority community. "Intolerance! PK did rattle the belief of Hindus but Aamir dint face the wrath of Hindu or THE MAJORITY but was super hit n made crores!" Rawal had tweeted.

Raveena Tandon, another self-proclaimed Modi admirer, also seemed to decry Aamir's remarks. "Guess all those who did not want pm Modi to become PM, want 2 bring this govt down.... Sadly becoz of politics, they are shaming country.... Fringe elements were always there, 1can always say thats condemnable, action needs to be taken against them, but to spread paranoia? not done," she tweeted.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt saw in the belligerence a desperation to grab the headlines. "Any view that is enlightened, balanced or reasoned has to be dead.... The more extreme a position one takes, the more attention one gets. It's a sad commentary on the times we live in," Bhatt told The Telegraph.

Asked about the intolerance debate and actors-turned-politicians trading barbs, Bhatt recited a doha (couplet) by saint-poet Kabir: "Kabira khada bazaar mein, maange sabki khair, na kahu se dosti, na kahu se bair (Kabir standing in a market, seeks the welfare of all, neither friendship nor enmity with anyone)."

Cut to the 1960s and Prithviraj Kapoor - the first Bollywood star to enter Parliament, as a nominated member. He was a staunch Congressman, a Jawaharlal Nehru confidant who staged plays highlighting the Nehruvian ideals of socialism and secularism at his Prithvi Theatre.

Nehru tapped Prithviraj for "cultural diplomacy" and often asked him to lead delegations abroad. When Nehru met Joseph Stalin, the dictator kept asking him about Raj Kapoor and his movie Awara. Raj Kapoor's daughter Ritu quoted Nehru as later telling Prithviraj: "What is this vagabond ( Awara) that your son has made? Stalin was talking about it all the time."

As MP, Prithviraj stayed at Princess Park, not far from India Gate, in Delhi. Every morning when Parliament sessions were on, Prithviraj would sit on the lawns and meet a range of visitors. He was president of the Central Railway Workers Union for four years and was widely credited with getting a 75 per cent rail fare concession for stage artistes and other performers.

On one occasion, Prithviraj had a spat with M.S. Golwalkar while travelling, just after the RSS ideologue was released from jail. The two had met at Khandala station, between Bombay and Pune. Some RSS supporters were chanting provocative slogans. Prithviraj entered the compartment and gave Guruji - as Golwalkar was called - a lecture on the need to rein in his acolytes.

"There is only one chair and so many want to sit on it. There is such a scramble for it that not only will many bones be broken but the chair itself will be smashed," Prithviraj spoke metaphorically, adding, "In politics, discipline is absolutely essential and your crowds are witness to the utter lack of it."

Actress Zohra Sehgal, whose sister Uzma Mumtaz had been romantically linked to Prithviraj, recalls how a mob had once threatened to stop a play, Pathan, at Prithvi Theatre.

Zohra, writing about the incident in a book published in 1997, recollected that Prithviraj kept his calm, asked the protesters to pick out the Muslims from the cast and said: "For me, they are all kalakars (artistes), you pick out Muslims," Zohra quoted Prithviraj as telling the protesters. "The mob could not find any Muslim as they all they looked Hindus," she wrote.

Although Prithviraj was a Nehru supporter, that did not stop him from admiring another Independence hero, Subhas Chandra Bose. Prtihviraj had raised money for Netaji's Indian National Army.

On some occasions, Prithviraj could say no to Nehru. As Prime Minister, Nehru once wanted to meet Prithviraj and sent an official to bring the actor for dinner. Prithviraj declined, saying he was with his theatre team. Nehru, himself a stage and film lover, then invited them all the next day.

An entire group of 60 - actors, musicians and carpenters who were part of the troupe to build the stage for plays - landed at the Prime Minister's residence at Teen Murti Bhavan. The members had access to Nehru's private dining room and the Prime Minister himself took them around, showing them the museum and the gifts he had received from visiting dignitaries.

According to Dharam Chand Seth, Prithviraj's cousin, the special bond between the actor and Nehru was unmistakable. "I once overheard Panditji (Nehru) telling Papaji (Prithviraj) that when you walk with me, you give me strength," Seth said.

Zohra's book dwells on the close ties and mentions how Prithviraj was often asked to lead cultural delegations overseas. "Prithvirajji had to refuse (sometimes) on account of an impending (theatre) tour. Panditji chided him for not having an understudy for his (stage) roles," Zohra says.

"I know someone else who is without an understudy," Prithviraj said. "Who?" asked Panditji. "You," responded the actor.