On November 7, 2014 a huge turn up of loyal, crazy yet obedient fans of Kamal Haasan filled up the Anna Auditorium in Chennai, where the actor and his Narpani Iyakkam gathered to donate Wheel chairs, bi-cycles, books, flower pots, Iron boxes and sewing machines to the underprivileged.

The celebrations began an hour before his arrival, as his fans danced heartily to his songs, some his prominent song collections were played and some fans even insisted on particular tracks, they waited to get a glimpse of their Ulaganayagan, they were patient but one could easily spot the excitement on their faces as every five seconds they would look to see if their ‘Thalaivar’ had arrived.

The actor was simply present everywhere, there were huge standees of him at the entrance, flyers and posters inside the hall showcased some of the actor’s best photographs, there was a huge sign on the stage that read “Diamond Jubilee 1954-2014”, amidst all the items placed on the stage to be distributed, there was one gold arm chair that no one dared to even sit near, everyone knew it was the legend’s throne for the evening.

An hour and a few minutes later, Kamal arrived, the crowd went crazy, they stood up, and they welcomed him with an electric applause that simply did not stop for at least ten minutes. For the first fifteen minutes the actor patiently distributed the donations but when the crowd started to get enthusiastic he walked to the podium, cleared his throat and said “Vanakkam”, the crowd went crazy yet again.

He started his speech by requesting the crowd to maintain silence; he told them he had heard what they wanted to say; now it’s their turn to hear him out. He tells everyone that it has been thirty years since they started their ‘Narpani Iyakkam’, every year on the same date they gather here to celebrate but he says this is the first year the media has been invited to take part in their celebrations.

Kamal Haasan suggested they form a Narpani Iyakkam to spread goodwill instead of mere hero worship, in the early days of hero worship he simply asked his fans “Naan yaar endru theriyum, neengal yaar endru therigiratha?”. He explains how much they have grown as people, he gives an example by stating “If I had asked them for support to enter politics they would have given in without a question, but if I ask them now, they would ask me if it is really necessary, that’s how much they have grown”. He says they have donated more than 20 crores and his contribution has only been his name, this humble legend further insists that his Narpani Iyakkam should continue their good work even after him.

Like a mother brags about her children, Kamal Haasan elaborates on how much his Narpani Iyakkam has been doing, he tells them how proud he is that they’ve come this far, his words are clearly from the bottom of his heart, he said “Idhu engal veetil nadakkum thiruvizha, Idharku en Kalai payanpadugirathu endraal, adhu ivangal seyaluku mun oru china oosi”

Talking about his Petraal Dhan Pillaya initiative he says he is now a proud father of more than 2000 children, he recalls how each of them came to him with no hope of living, now they have dreams of becoming doctors and lawyers he says.

Making it clear that they have no motives of sensationalizing this initiative he says “I am not doing this with a motive to create sensationalism, my movies have been doing either good or bad regardless of this, the only feeling I take home after this is the pride of spreading good will and the happiness of being a good human being” he further talks about hoe he wants to be addressed by people as a good human being first “When somebody introduces me in the future, I hope the good human in me is addressed before the artist in me, when this happens, you all must know they are not only addressing me, they are addressing each and one of you and your hard work”

Kamal concludes by saying “We have a long way to go, this is just a start, we have so much work left, let’s discuss more in our next meeting. I have only mentioned fifty percent of what you all have done the other fifty I know you will prove to them with your action. I thank you all for making my birthday meaningful”. He waves at his fans once again and leaves the hall, leaving the crowd star struck once again.

 At this celebration, celebrities including MS Bhaskar, Bobby Simha and Chitra Lakshmanan presented Kamal Haasan with mementos.