Vadodara: City’s civic polls on Sunday brought disappointment for 86-year-old Dhiru Mistry, a pioneering figure in India’s electoral campaign filmmaking, after his name was found missing from the voters’ list.Mistry, a resident of Bhayli, said he reached the polling booth early in the morning to avoid the heat, only to be told that he could not vote as his name was not registered.“I am very disappointed. It’s frustrating to travel all the way to the polling booth and be told my name doesn’t exist in the voters’ list,” he said.This is the second consecutive election in which Mistry has been unable to vote. He recalled facing a similar issue during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well.“All my neighbours got voter slips two days ago, but I did not receive one. Officials had visited our area, but they did not come to my house. I don’t know if I will be able to vote in the next election,” he said.Mistry, however, is no ordinary voter. In 1971, he created India’s first election campaign film for Congress (O) candidate Maharaja Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad, who was contesting from Vadodara.“I told the Maharaja that he reaches about 2,000 people through daily meetings. But with a campaign film, he could reach 50,000 at once,” Mistry recalled.Impressed, Gaekwad agreed to fund the project, offering Rs 2,500 in advance against a quoted cost of Rs 5,000, with the remaining payment dependent on his approval of the film.The campaign film was screened in 12 theatres across Vadodara for 10 days and reportedly struck a chord with voters. Gaekwad went on to win the election comfortably, and Mistry later received several similar offers from other candidates.
