Do fan clubs play a big role in ensuring the box office success of their icons' films? Prabhudev M investigates For 'Bhasha' Velu, an auto driver, a sachet of milk is a luxury. But he happily splurges his meager income on several such sachets to pour over Rajinikanth's giant cut out whenever the actor's movies are released. No expense or effort is too much for Velu when it comes to his thalaivar's (leader) films. "I will go to any extent to buy a ticket for the first day, first show. When Chandramukhi was released, I spent Rs 2,500 to buy the costume that Rajni wore in the film. When Shivaji was released, I opted for the bald look and sported a beard," he declares with pride. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2009/may/fanclub.jpg" border="1" /> Mass hysteria Velu is not alone in his idol worship. There are thousands of fans like him across South India who have honed hero worship to a fine art. As a first step, they organise themselves into fan clubs so that they can celebrate every momentous occasion in their hero's life birthday, new release, film's completion of 100 days in theatres, etc. Members get busy on the eve of their idol's film release, decorating theatres with buntings and flowers and commissioning mammoth cutouts of their hero. Do they contribute to the film's success with their hysteria? "Yes, they do. If at all a movie receives a grand opening, it's because of fans and fan clubs," insists Sa Ra Govindu, producer and president of Rajkumar Fans Association. Their task is not over even after the 'grand opening' because they need to gear up for the 50- and 100-day celebrations. But as a trade pundit points out, "Fans do help in boosting initial collections at the box office, but the movie has to run on its merit later." u00a0 Committee members of such fan clubs also claim to be in touch with the demi-god, and carry out activities like blood donation camps and mass marriage ceremonies in their hero's name. In Annavaru's memory Govindu says, "We started out as a small fan club in the late 70s in Mysore. I was made the president in 1983, and within a year our fan club grew into a massive organisation. We opened 9,000 branches in the state, and we have 5,00,000 members today." This fan club also rallied behind Dr Rajkumar, when he took part in the Gokak movement, which demanded first-language status for Kannada language in the state.u00a0 "When we started out, we did the usual things like celebrate the release and the success of Annavaru's films. In the mid 80s, we conducted blood donation camps. We created a national record when over 2,500 people donated blood at a camp organised by our fan club. But after Annavaru's death, the fan club is not so active," he says. Girls get devotees A few years ago, when the 'Khushboo craze' was at its peak, her 'devotees' had even built a temple for her in Tiruchirapalli. Recently, two temples were built for Tamil actress Namitha in Tirunelvelli. And fans of Nayantara are planning immortalize her in Aravakurichi in Karur, with you guessed it a temple!

Do fan clubs play a big role in ensuring the box office success of their icons' films? Prabhudev M investigates

Nothing if not loyal

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