Celebrating fandom, up close and personal

En vaathiyaar Superstar!’ (My guru is superstar) sang Ilayathalapathy Vijay in Kuruvi — this was not only his way of honouring Rajinikanth, but also a tribute to all die-hard fans of the  actor. Regardless of whether movies turn out to be good or bad, folklore dictates that fans will continue to revere their favourite heroes!
Quite aware of this fact, K’town filmmakers started referencing the biggest stars in their movies to make fans happy. Boss Engira Bhaskaran was instrumental in making the term Thala-Thalapathy commonplace  among fans. Not only this, Ajith fans were over the moon when Arya did a paal abishekam (ritual milk offering) for Ajith in Yatchan, while Vijay fans rejoiced when Genelia asked Dhanush to be as heroic as ‘Ghilli’ Vijay in Uthamaputhiran!

No wonder then, that the Tamil industry has now started experimenting with movies that serve as fan tributes. Movies not only for fans... but about the fans, even! In fact, three movies in the pipeline, Moondru Rasigargal, Adhiravaipom and Thala Pola Varuma are exclusively for Vijay and Ajith fans. Shahrukh Khan’s Fan, which is about to release all over India next month, is yet another example.
“In Tamil cinema, there are only fans for actors rather than movies. Though I’m from a film family, I grew up as a die-hard fan of Ajith himself. And every time I used to go to the FDFS (first day, first show) of Thala’s films, the proudest moment for me would be the pre-show celebration. So, I wanted to direct a movie which would be about the fans, and serve as a feast for them,” says Soorajj S Kurup, the director of Thala Pola Varuma.

He added that in spite of the low-key promotions for the movie, the very use of Ajith’s name was enough to create a stir on social media. The film also has a lookalike of the Vedhalam star, Tejas KM as its lead hero. “It’s a dream come true to act as his fan. I’ve been encouraged by fans who say that they’re excited to see themselves on-screen,” the actor exclaims.

Moondru Rasigargal, directed by Shebi Chowghat, is about the adventurous journey of three fans to meet Vijay, and whether they succeed in meeting him or not. An interesting aspect about this movie is that, though it’s a straight Tamil film, the cast and crew are largely from Kerala, who, owing to their affection towards Thalapathy, decided to make the movie.

Roshan Basheer of Papanasam fame is one of the leads in the movie. “His fans are incredible — apart from celebrating his movies like festivals, they also engage in lots of social activities. So, this movie is to show our gratitude to them. One of the best things about this movie is that we’ve actually shot a few scenes at Vijay’s residence. It will be a one-of-its-kind experience for them,” he says.
It indeed is time for fans to whistle for themselves!