Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan has cancelled his birthday celebrations in Chennai.
In a gesture that could touch a chord with thousands of people distressed by the recent heavy rains in Chennai and beyond, Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan cancelled his birthday bash planned for today. Instead, Mr Haasan, who turns 63, will start his day with a visit to a medical camp set up by his fans in Avadi, 20 km from Chennai city, and later head to a south Chennai locality, among the worst-affected due to the recent rains.
Mr Haasan, who has been prepping for politics for months, will nevertheless stick to his plan to launch the mobile application at around noon. He has called the phone app the "first step" in his political journey.
"He will be reaching out to people with his special message," his spokesperson said, adding that he would also speak about his "plans for the future".
Hours after his team made the announcement to disappointed fans, the star took to Twitter to reach out and explain. "To those who love me and dislike the idea of my cancelling my birthday celebrations," he tweeted in English and Tamil, late on Monday night
"Tomorrow is just another day if you just celebrate and fail to seize it. If we can make it better in pursuit of a cause then we become the change we seek," the actor, who had upgraded his fan club into a welfare association decades earlier to help people, said.
For the party that he promised to launch, the outspoken actor with over 200 movies in 40 years has spoken of recruiting "fresh, young faces" and crowd-sourcing funds to ensure transparency in his party.
Mr Haasan has attributed his decision to float a new group rather than join a party, saying he hadn't been able to find a party that matches "his reformatory goals" in politics.