Amidst blaring speakers that played film songs, jostling party cadre and curious residents who wanted to catch a glimpse of the actor waited for nearly an hour to arrive at the campaign spot in Kasimedu. When Kamal Haasan turned up at 6 p.m., the crowd erupted with cheers, that went on, punctuating his speech throughout. The slogan for the day seemed to be: ‘Thalaivaa...I love you.’

The actor-turned-politician had to oblige to people’s request from different corners asking him to face them or wave at them during his campaign. Nearly the entire crowd was busy at various points of time, shooting pictures of the star in his campaign vehicle. A few ladies stepped up to the first rung of the crowd and told the men standing there sternly, to lower the flags and banners they were holding, because they “wanted to see Kamal’s face.”

Even before he landed along with the MNM candidate A.G.Maurya, in fact from one hour ahead, an autorickshaw stationed on the main S.N. Street, and through a public address system, MNM members were making announcements about the current location of the convoy. This naturally added to the drama and gave the crowds something to wait for. There was a lot of curosity to see the star, up close and in person, a story to take back home, a story to tell classmates, neighbours and those who could not come to Kasimedu where the campaign started. One woman in the audience said: “I have come all this way only to do one thing: To see Kamal Hassan in flesh and blood.”

And the star played to the gallery. Naturally the loudest cheers went up as he said: “There may be many beautiful places in the city. But Chennai’s soul is here. It is the place of working class and it is our duty to ensure their security.”