Kollywood rains down help

The rains brought life in Chennai and other parts of the state to a standstill, but over the last five days, the Kollywood fraternity has been most forthcoming with help for the flood-affected in the form of money, food and shelter. Apart from donating Rs 10 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF), Rajinikanth has also opened his Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in Kodambakkam to provide food and shelter.

Actor Vijay, whose contribution to the fund is a munificent sum of Rs 5 crore, has also provided shelter and food in his marriage hall in Vadapalani. Ajith, well-known for his helpfulness, has put up people in his house, made a contribution of Rs 1 crore, and last week, his wife Shalini distributed food to over 400 people in Mandaveli.

Earlier in the week, Suriya and his brother Karthi contributed Rs 25 lakh to the fund. Also Karthi has teamed up with Vishal, general secretary, and other members of the Nadigar Sangam to help people whose homes had been badly affected by the floods. They have been rescuing people caught in the low-lying areas of Chennai and Cuddalore. Actor Siddharth and RJ Balaji were among the first from the Tamil film industry to start with rescue operations and have been carrying out relief works across the city with the help of volunteers and their twitter handles. 

Dhanush and Aishwarya also pitched in through the actor’s fan clubs across the state. They have also been carrying out relief works in the coastal areas of Cuddalore. Speculations are that actor Raghava Lawrence, who is known for his philanthropic activities, is said to have contributed about Rs 1 crore through his Raghava Lawrence Charitable Trust. Apart from Kollywood celebrities, television stars Ramya Subramaniam, Divyadharshini and Brinda Das have also been carrying out relief works across the city since last week.