"What Happens When a State Is Run by Movie Stars?"

Great question (in the abstract). I clicked. The article (in the NYT) is (in the specific) about Tamil Nadu, India. I'm linking, if for no other reason, because I flat-out love the photograph at the top. As for the text of the article... excerpt:

One morning I met Shihan Hussaini, a karate teacher, archer, sculptor, painter and sometime actor, at his studio near Elliot’s Beach in Chennai. ‘‘Tamil Nadu revolves around sensation, revolves around drama, revolves around legends,’’ he said. ‘‘Tamil Nadu people, they lap it up.’’

I first heard of Hussaini after he made a double-size but otherwise perfectly lifelike sculpture of Jayalalithaa’s head out of 11 liters of his own and his students’ coagulated blood. But he was quick to draw a line. ‘‘I’m not one of those fools that set themselves on fire,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m an educated guy. There are millions and millions of men, women and children who love her equally or in fact more than me. But I’m able to express it in the right way.’’

The latest way he chose to express his love for Jayalalithaa was to have himself crucified....