Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan will launch the mobile app on his birthday in Chennai
For months, superstar Kamal Haasan has been reluctant to put a date to his political debut. He could come close tomorrow when he turns 63, around the same time that he launches a mobile application to stay connected with lakhs of his fans and delivers, what his team promises, would be a "special message".
Over the weekend, the actor had described the mobile app that will let him crowdsource funds as the "first step" in his political journey.
"I'm confident that you will contribute funds generously as you have in the past for our welfare activities," he told a gathering of his fans ahead of the announcement on his birthday.
There won't be any celebrations though. His team says because Chennai people are distressed by the heavy rains. Instead, he will start the day with visits to a medical camp that his fan club runs and later, meet residents of the south Chennai locality that was among the worst affected.
It is activities like these that are expected to be at the heart of his politics too; the one that he is seeking to fund.
The pattern for his to-be-announced party is inspired by a model perfected by Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital; each rupee that pours into its coffers is also a promise of continuing support and the total, a barometer of its popularity.
Mr Kejriwal was one of the two Chief Ministers Mr Haasan met over the last few months as part of what he had referred to as "political tourism"; Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala was the other.
Mr Haasan has been saying since July that he's ready to form his own political party but it was in his alert to fans last month, asking them to "get ready" for Tuesday's big announcement and to serve the people, that reignited speculation about his plans to launch the political party on his birthday.
That conclusion, the actor has suggested, was unrealistic. "I take a minimum of three months to prepare for just a movie role. So I'm not in a hurry," said Mr Haasan.
The only thing that he has spoken about with some certainty is his readiness to play a lead role in Tamil Nadu politics, and wear a "crown of thorns".
"I'm not hungry for power but we will seize the opportunity if that's the only way to deliver for the people," Mr Haasan said in an interview in September.
Other political parties in Tamil Nadu, however, aren't losing sleep over his political plunge yet.
"I will not be disgraceful to say that state is not waiting for him. But in a democracy, anybody is free to join politics," said the ruling AIADMK's V Maitreyan, pointing that there are already 1,800 political parties in the country. "If one more is added, heavens are not going to fall," he said.
It is a sentiment that was echoed by others such as O Panneerselvam a few months earlier when he suggested that the acid test, was going to be retaining public support.