Fan moment: I just cannot forget Simbu Anna’s humility & affection, says Deepu S Giri

I became a fan when...
I was a schoolkid when Manmadhan released and that’s when I became a fan of STR. One of the main reasons I became his fan was because of his acting talent, filmmaking and music composing. Later, when social media became popular, I started doing promotional activities for his films on different platforms. I used to watch and read his interviews multiple times and it sort of became an addiction after a point.I like the way he speaks, very straight forward. He always speaks his heart out and is not pretentious. He’s quite daring, too.
When I met my idol...
I have seen him many times at different venues. We have a team that attends all film-related events where STR is present, but I never had a personal interaction with him. He was the chief guest for the trailer launch of Vivekh sir’s Ezhumin. After the event, I got a call from STR anna’s close aide asking me to come to the former’s house. I was awestruck the moment I met anna. I was so happy when he recognised me because of the frequent posts that I used to put up on social media. He enquired after my well-being and we had a casual chat. I forgot that I was talking to a celebrity – it was as if I was talking to an elder brother. He insisted that I update myself on various issues happening in the society and asked me to gain more knowledge on things which I’m interested in. It took some time for me to come to terms with the fact that I had spoken with him. I just cannot forget Simbu anna’s humility and affection.
The craziest thing I’ve done as a fan...
Generally, I am sleepless one month before and after the release of his movies because of the excitement and social media promotions. There were early morning shows slotted for his last release, Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven, staring from 5am. We were told that STR would watch the movie with fans. Usually, fans come around 2am or 3am. But I couldn’t hold my eagerness and went to the theatre at around 12midnight. I was the only person there. The cops who were on night patrol asked me why I’m there so early. They asked me to go home. But since I couldn’t do that, I started roaming around – within two to three kilometre radius of the theatre and came back by around 1.30am. I watch his films seven to eight times in the theatre – there are movies which I have caught in theatre more than 10 times. Similarly, there are a few interviews of his, which I would have watched online over 100 times.