Coimbatre/Salem: It took a second glimpse – third for many – to realize that the man who was walking past them in a brisk manner in navy blue jogging suit wearing a black face mask was Kamal Haasan.
The matinee idol turned politician thought it fit to get out of the gym of the star hotel where he was staying and join the joggers and walkers in Race Course in the city on Tuesday. Clearly, the men and women who had come to Race Course hoping for another routine day went back with a pleasant surprise.
Kamal had hit the Race Course road as early as 6am leaving them in disbelief. Race Course falls in Coimbatore South segment, where Kamal is contesting. As they came closer, Kamal exchanged pleasantries, shook hands with some and interacted with a few.
He then went to Ramanathapuram where he sought to know the problems faced by the residents from the public there. The actor then went straight to Sandow Chinnappa Thevar gym in Olympus. The gym, founded by yesteryear film producer Chinnapa Thevar, is one of the oldest in the city. According to Kollywood lore, it was in this gym that film star and former chief minister MGR learnt martial arts for movies like ‘Abhimanyu’ when several films were shot in Central Studio and Pakshiraja Studio in Coimbatore.
Kamal demonstrated his silambaattam, deftly swinging and swaying silambam - the long cane, much to the delight of the students and masters alike at the gym.
The MNM chief then visited the fish market at Ukkadam, interacted with the traders there and inspected ongoing Ukkadam flyover works before hopping on to an auto to return to his hotel in Race Course. Back at the hotel, he met members of Coimbatore Jewellery Manufacturers Association led by its president B Muthuvenkatraman, who form a sizable vote bank in the constituency. They submitted a memorandum about the woes faced by the jewellery units.
In the evening, Kamal took a special flight to Salem where he addressed a public meeting at Dadagapatty. Calling AIADMK a headless snake and the DMK as a dangerous animal, Kamal wanted people to vanquish both. Harping on to the legacy of MGR, Kamal said that when the late matinee idol entered politics, he was also termed as a third front. But he went on to win the elections and create history.