Nowhere else in the world would you be able to witness a group of people building a temple to worship an actor. Nowhere else in the world would you be able to see youngsters pitching in lakhs worth of money to erect a gigantic cutout of their favourite star just to celebrate the release of his new film. And nowhere else would you hear the news of fans donating several lakhs worth of life-saving medical equipment in the name of their star. Nowhere else but in India.
The star’s image and the existence of these fan clubs are reciprocal. If the star’s power is pitched on these clubs, the fan clubs in turn depend on their star’s image to come up with these extravagant displays. When it comes to the southern states, fan clubs are eventually channelled to propel the star into politics. MGR did it, Vijayakanth, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan and Kamal Haasan are doing it and others to come too will follow suit.
And what do these fan clubs do? In addition to erecting banners and earning a disrepute for engaging in toxic and abusive online wars, fan clubs also organise welfare programs — from blood donation drives to cleaning up lakes. TNM spoke to a few fan club members across industries to understand some of the welfare activities they do in the name of their star.
On September 2 this year, to mark actor and politician “Power star” Pawan Kalyan’s 49th birthday, his fans donated over 600 oxygen cylinders, worth estimated to be Rs 70 lakh, to government hospitals in Andhra Pradesh and in Hyderabad city. The President of the Jana Sena Party responded by saying that he was overwhelmed by the gesture of the “Jana Sainiks” across the world.
Similarly, during Chiranjeevi’s 65th birthday this August, fans took to planting trees and donating blood. Only in May this year, Thiruvananthapuram District Mohanlal Fans Association pledged to donate their organs to the state run 'Mrithasanjivini' programme, a gesture that gained a nod from State Health Minister KK Shailaja.
In March 2019, Vijay fans in Kerala called Kollam Nanbans, were of great help during the devastating floods that year. A wide network of fans across the state mobilised to help in relief camps while it was reported that the actor himself had routed donations through the fans’ accounts.
The same year across all districts in Tamil Nadu, Thalapathy Vijay Vilaiyilla Virundhagams (Thalapathy Vijay free banquet) were launched. Here, about 100 residents are fed free breakfast daily, even during pandemic. This is among the other activities that the “Thalapathy” fan club members do. “We also distribute tailoring machines to women, organise health camps, hold free banquets, renovate schools and other such welfare programs,” a Vijay Makkal Iyakkam member tells TNM.
Fan clubs have been around since the time of idol worship began in Indian cinema. But fan clubs have been turned into welfare associations when the star expresses political ambitions.
Around 2009, the actor Vijay’s fan clubs were brought together as a “narpani iyakkam” (welfare association) later turning into Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, a registered welfare association with branches across the state. Speaking to TNM, a member from Vijay Makkal Iyakkam shares, “It is like a mini party. We have a youth wing, students wing, etc. We have district heads and a main head. The head office in Panayur where we have annual meets.” While the word is that his fan clubs have been working silently, over the past few years, these activities have gained some attention, especially since Vijay himself has been making politically loaded statements, both in his films and during his annual public appearances.
Most often, especially when it comes to Tamil Nadu and Telugu speaking states, these fan clubs have proven to be a launchpad for the star’s eventual plunge into politics. Case in point is Rajinikanth’s Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM). When the actor announced that he would be entering politics in 2017, his fan clubs were converted into party outfits. The sheer number of members attached to RMM and their present structure as a political outfit have helped in distributing relief and indulging in other charity work.
Another interesting observation is with actor Kamal Haasan’s fan clubs that were converted into Narpani Iyakkam well before he expressed his intent to join politics. Members from his welfare association have reportedly pointed out their role during the 2004 Tsunami and the 2015 floods. Kamal’s Narpani Iyakkam came in handy to the star when he launched his party Makkal Needhi Maiam in 2018.
Actor Suriya, on the other hand, features more prominently as an individual when it comes to charity, his fan clubs taking a backseat. The star along with his family members father Sivakumar and brother Karthi, run the Agaram Foundation solely to help children from working-class families and difficult backgrounds gain access to quality education. The star himself makes donations and his fan club activities are mostly routed through his Foundation.
However, stars like Ajith, who maintain a very low-key profile and resolutely keep away from making any political statements, have disbanded their fan clubs. According to those in the field, his fans as individuals might indulge in charity. In Malayalam, Mammootty Fans and Welfare Association International (MFWAI) was founded in 1989, soon after the release of the movie Vadakkan Veeragatha. Arun, state president of the MFWAI says, “I have heard that when the idea of a fans association was suggested to Mammukka, he said that he didn’t want an association of fans for the sake of it but one that will help people out. That’s why you find ‘welfare’ in the name.”
The kind of charity work that fans indulge in regularly is mostly decided by their leaders.
Vignesh, who is Kancheepuram head of the Vijay Sethupathi Fan Club in Tamil Nadu talks about cleaning a lake in their district. “We have about 1000 members who are active part of the fan club so when we indulge in some welfare activity, we ask them to pitch in whatever they can, Rs 50, Rs 100. Last time we were able to clean a lake in Kancheepuram and people in the village were very happy,” says the 24-year-old.
Blood donation drives are common among all fan clubs. For Mammootty’s birthday this year – on September 7 – blood donation camps were organised in more than one place of all 14 districts in Kerala. “All it needs is your time. Numbers of our members are enlisted with most major blood banks. For other charity work, we use funds that we collect among ourselves – there are working members and students. There are district and state-level committees. When it’s an emergency and something big, we coordinate the districts together,” Arun says.
Some have gone beyond. A Mahesh Babu fan club member recalls, “We were able to collect Rs 5 lakh for the spinal cord surgery for a 15-year-old in August last year. Mahesh Babu also donated for this and NTR fans have also collaborated for the donation. The girl had multiple surgeries, and this was the last one, where she received help from fans, after they heard about her in social media,” he explains.
Money for these events are usually pooled in by the fans. “Vijay sir always tells us to not go beyond what we can afford. He is against us taking loans for organising such programs. He says, “Prioritise your family first and only if you can, indulge in charity.”,” says the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam member.
In Tamil Nadu, fan clubs for Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi too are growing. “Fans indulge in charity work based on their star’s face value and based on how they interact with fans. Not every star is close to their fan club,” says the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam member.
Vijay Sethupathi’s fan Vignesh puts it better. “He may not be interested in joining politics now but we always do. Any fan would want to see their star as a leader one day. Be it Rajini or Vijay. When fan clubs are seriously involved in welfare measures it means they would like to see their star become a leader one day.”
But on a basic level, we ask, why do fans do what they do in the name of their star? “I like him (Vijay Sethupathi). I have seen what the previous generation used to do. I remember what my father used to do as a Rajini fan. I’ve seen my neighbour Annas (older brothers) do it for Vijay. Now I do it for my star. It is more of a habit. But there are people who are not part of any fan clubs but continue to do welfare in the name of the star. We like him and would like to do good in his name,” he offers.
(With inputs from Cris and Rajeswari Parasa)