Radhika At The Receiving End

When Radhika joined ADMK just before the State Elections in May, it was widely reported that she had no intentions of joining the party and it was only Amma who forcefully handed over the party membership card to Radhika. Radhika must have been in a tight spot as she would not have expected Amma to hand over the ADMK membership card in front of the large media contingent. The media had gathered to cover Sarath's entry into ADMK and Radhika had just accompanied Sarath.

Radhika never seemed to be comfortable in the ADMK camp. Radhika's Radaan continued its business relationship with Sun Network. Even though there were reports that Kalanidhi Maran & Co. were planning to terminate Radhika's mega-serials and game shows, those rumours never turned out to be true. Radaan's programmes seem to be reasonably popular and Radhika's proximity to MK's family might have worked out in her favour. Radhika was also seen in the recent felicitation ceremony for MK, but Sarath Kumar was absent (no surprises there!).

Radhika was in the eye of the storm once again when she was chosen as Coke's brand ambassador in the campaign to allay public fears about the presence of pesticides in the cola drink. Lots of organisations protested that Radhika should not have signed up for this assignment as it looks like she has sacrificed her principles just to make a quick buck. Even I was surprised by Coke's decision. Aamir's choice was a bit justified as he was Coke's existing brand ambassador. However, Radhika was never associated with Coke before and they just brought her in only for this campaign.

Although being a part of ADMK, I have not seen Radhika campaigning actively for Amma's party. A combination of the above factors might have resulted in Amma expelling Radhika from ADMK. It would be interesting to see Sarath's next move