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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

An enduring bond with India, Chennai

“The first time I visited Chennai,
I felt such a
special buzz
about the place.”

— Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Mike Rann.

Mike Rann, the Premier of South Australia and President of Australia’s ruling Labor Party, isn’t the most conventional head of state. He’s obsessed about cricket — so much so that he can’t stop talking about the one time he got Krishnamachari Srikkanth out in 2005 — he has acted in four films and loves Bollywood (a euphemism for Priyanka Chopra, he hints). He also professes a deep connection with India, and has made a promise to visit the country every year during his tenure as Premier. He speaks to Ananth Krishnan about his special relationship with India and Chennai during his recent visit to the city. And, of course, his Bollywood dreams.

Mike Rann’s connections with India go back a long way. His British father was in the Royal tank regiment and served along the Indian fourth division in World War II, in the Italian campaign at Monte Casino. “There has always been an incredible affection and respect in my family, and in Australia, for India and Indian people, and I share that too,” Mr. Rann says.

“But I felt that despite the close connections between India and Australia, we had sort of been close cousins who had taken each other for granted.”

Mr. Rann decided to set that right when he took charge of the South Australian Government in 2002. His government has launched a number of initiatives to establish close economic and educational ties with India and Tamil Nadu in particular. Mr. Rann chose Chennai as the base for his state’s business plans in India and signed a ‘sister-state’ agreement with Tamil Nadu.

“Other Australian states were looking at Mumbai and New Delhi, but my research tells me that the next boom will be in southern India,” Mr. Rann asserts. “And the first time I visited Chennai, I felt such a special buzz about the place.”

South Australia has had a rapid makeover in the past few years. The state was crudely known as the ‘rust belt’ in Australia for its old and dilapidated mining industry. One of Mr. Rann’s first acts as Premier was to set up an ambitious mining project to triple South Australia’s mining exploration — a target his rivals said was unrealistic and journalists referred to as “political suicide”. In just four years, South Australia’s exploration had increased ten-fold.

It’s the state’s mining boom that brings Mr. Rann to Chennai. “We’re on the verge of a huge boom, but we need skilled and professional people. I’m here to encourage more skilled migration and encourage people from Tamil Nadu to look to South Australia for its universities,” he says.

When Mr. Rann talks about his state’s success story, he almost sounds like a preacher. He talks quickly and passionately, and easily rattles off statistics about the booming economy. The only other instance Mike Rann’s passionate side comes through in our half-hour chat is when we brought up his acting career.

Bollywood connection

Mr. Rann has been in three Australian films, including a silent black and white comedy where he plays a future Prime Minister of Australia. Recently, he was in a film of a different kind. He played a cameo role in the Bollywood film ‘Love Story 2050’, shot in Adelaide, starring Priyanka Chopra.

“It was a fantastic experience,” Mr. Rann says. “I shot this all-dancing, all-singing extravaganza.” And how was dancing with Priyanka Chopra? “Oh, she was simply a delightful young woman with great dignity and intelligence,” Mr. Rann enthuses. “I was hoping to dance with Priyanka, but the only dancing seemed to involve me and her boyfriend for some reason. Which, to be honest, wasn’t what I quite had in mind.”

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