Finger, Family and Franchise: When Tollywood votes

Raj Chakrabarty took his mother Lila and father Krishna Sankar to the booth in Halisahar early in the morning to avoid the rush. The Tollywood director is currently busy shooting for Yoddha, which stars Dev, TMC candidate from Ghatal constituency.

Dev made it to the polling booth at 7 am, before leaving for Ghatal, from where he is contesting the elections on a TMC ticket. “Each vote counts to build a better future. So, vote for the right candidate,” he urged. Dev irked a handful of voters after he broke the queue at the polling booth to oblige shutterbugs. The star, who apologized to the offended voters, was taken away by mediapersons. Later, after the situation became normal again, the actor voted and headed to Ghatal — the constituency from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

Nusrat, flanked by father Md Shahjahan and mother Sushma Jahan, posed for the camera. The trio made it to the booth at 7.30 am. We caught them outside Modern High School, where the three of them happily 'gave us the finger'.

Jadavpur’s outgoing MP Kabir Suman stood in the queue for one-and-a-half hours to cast his vote. The singer-songwriter sported a cool hat to beat the heat, but was seen sweating profusely as he sat metres away from the serpentine queue

His fate may already have been decided in Malda (North), but TMC candidate Soumitra Ray looked relaxed and happy as he cast his vote on Monday morning. Is his heart singing a victory tune already? Well, sure seemed so. He was accompanied by son Arjyesh, who was a first time voter.

(L-R) Mumtaz, Maneka, PC Sorcar Jr, Jayashree and Moubani cast a spell on er... the camera. The family looked visibly excited as the man of the house is himself contesting the polls from Barasat on a BJP ticket

Rituparna Sengupta said she was going to spend time with her daughter, Rishona. “It’s Rishona’s birthday today and I am looking forward to some baby’s day out fun with her,” she said. But that din't stop her from taking time out to exercise her voting rights. Well, that's a mom Rishona surely looks up to!

Moon Moon Sen, TMC candidate from Bankura, was accompanied by daughters Raima, Riya and husband Bharat Dev Varma to the polling booth. “Every election, we come out together to cast our votes. This year, it’s a little different as I’m contesting the Lok Sabha polls myself. There’s a lot of excitement. I want all the youngsters to cast their votes for a better future,” said Moon Moon

Saswata Chatterjee and wife Mohua were all smiles. “I wasn’t sure if I’d manage to vote as shooting for Ebar Shabor is in full swing,” said the actor. the team of Ebar Shabor, along with director Arindam Sil is currently shooting in Pondicherry.

“I have no shoot today. In the evening, I might catch up with friends,” said Payel Sarkar after casting her vote. She was accompanied by her mum and dad, who enthusiastically posed for us.

Anupam Roy sang the perfect poll tune as he struck a pose for the velfie
(you know, the absolutely necessary vote selfie) and mailed us a copy too. Anindya Chattopadhyay was all smiles as he showed off his inked finger. It was a working day for Upal Sengupta. “I have some animation work to finish,” said the singer.

Parno Mittra wanted to show her pride in India and posted her velfie on Twitter. “This little blue mark on my finger gives me goosebumps. I’m so proud to flaunt it. Even at the polling station I saw people clicking their inked fingers on their phones!” Later in the day, she had plans to catch up with friends. “I have to cook as friends will come over for lunch. There’s no help at home, but I’m loving it,” said Parno.

Paoli Dam turned up to cast her vote looking gorgeous as ever in a black and white sari. “Even if I’m in Mumbai, I take a day off to be in Kolkata to cast my vote, as it is our democratic right,” said Paoli.