A week ago, the Pandavar Ani were making headlines after scripting a dramatic win at the Nadigar Sangam elections. This week the new office bearers were addressing the press for the first time. The newly elected President Nasser’s request to the media was: stop using the name ‘Pandavar Ani’. “It’s a name we used during the elections. Now that the elections are over, we will no longer be known by our team names. We are all members of the Nadigar Sangam family,” he said. General Secretary Vishal added, “It came to our notice that a few people are misusing the name Pandavar Ani in the elections of another union. I would like to clarify that we are not involved in any other election.”
Members of the Executive Committee, Sreeman, Prasanna, Soniya, Nanda, and Sangita, were all present. Also present were Kovai Sarala and Pasupathy. For almost 10 minutes, there was chaos as the various bodies present (Directors Union, Producers Council, FEFSI, PRO union, Television PRO Union, and Cinema Journalist Union) congratulated the winners and offered their support to the Sangam in its functioning. A sea of glittering Ponnadais and even turkey towels were presented to the team. Many were surprised to see the president of the Producers Council, Kalaipuli S Thanu, among the guests, as Thanu had openly supported Sarathkumar’s team. Thanu, however, graciously congratulated the winners and said that there would be harmony between the film associations.
Vishal made a number of key announcements. Actor Kamal Haasan, a supporter of the winning team, would be made one of the Trustees of the Nadigar Sangam General Council. Vishal also requested actors who weren’t yet registered with the Sangam to come forward and register themselves as members. The Treasurer, Karthi, said that making a database of the Sangam members was a priority for the new administration. A database with detailed information on the members would make it easier to allot funds, and provide other facilities.
Ishari Ganesh, founder-Chairman of Vels University, and a member of the Nadigar Sangam for over 30 years, announced that the monthly funds provided for certain members of the Sangam by the Vels charitable trust would be increased from Rs.500 to Rs.1000. He also announced that educational institutions like Jeppiaar, SRM, Ramachandra, Bharat, and Vels would offer educational and medical benefits to the children and grand-children of underprivileged Sangam members.
When asked whether reports that Sarathkumar had cancelled the deal with SPI Cinemas were true, Vice President Ponvannan said that the relevant documents haven’t yet reached them, and a decision would be made only after discussions.
Vishal also announced that there was approximately Rs.21 lakhs in the Nadigar Sangam bank account, with fixed deposits of Rs.87 lakhs. He said that the auditors were still working on the Sangam accounts.
Given the significance of the elections, the scale of the media coverage has been massive. Comparable to the coverage of general elections, and reaching Tamil diasporic audiences across the globe. Vishal and Karthi thanked the media for helping them reach out to the Sangam members and giving them a platform to forth their ideas. The meeting resembled a congratulatory meet, given the number of people who came on stage just to wish the new guard.
