Rameswaram, July 29: For someone who never watched movies - Gandhi was the sole exception - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam shared a special bond with Tamil film comedian Vivek.
To the extent that after receiving the Padma Shri from Pratibha Patil in 2008, the actor drove down to Kalam's house on Rajaji Marg and had the former President hand it to him all over again.
In Rameswaram today to salute his hero, Vivek recalled that inspired by Kalam's mission for India and its youth, he had mouthed many of the scientist's ideas in dialogues in his films.
One was that education should be available to all children, which appears in Saami, Vivek said. Another was in Tirunelveli, in which Vivek tells warring caste groups: "Abdul Kalam says 'Sharpen your brains'. But you only want to sharpen your weapons."
Speaking with The Telegraph, the 53-year-old said: "One day I had done a scene in which I had to jump into Chennai's Cooum river. It was then that I got a call that Kalam wanted to meet me. I had a bath and rushed to meet him. And I joked with him that he had just helped me wash off all my stains."
That was in 2002, when Kalam was a visiting professor at Anna University and had just been named the candidate for President. Vivek recalled that after the film unit's photographer clicked pictures of everyone posing with Kalam, the scientist politely asked the actor: "Should you not ask the photographer if he wants a picture with me?"
Vivek continued: "Who else would have thought of that? To this day, that photographer treasures that picture with Kalam."
During Kalam's term as President from July 2002 to July 2007, Vivek had once sent him a request saying he was in Delhi and wanted to meet him. "Immediately, I was given five minutes but we ended up talking for 45 minutes. I converted that conversation into an interview for a Tamil magazine which was a great hit among the youth," Vivek said.
In 2008, Vivek interviewed Kalam for a Tamil channel.
Asked if Kalam had seen any of his comedy scenes, especially those in which Vivek had quoted his name, the actor said he had heard of them from others. "So I compiled them in a DVD and sent it to him. He was happy that some of his ideas could be used to provoke laughter. He enjoyed the social messages packed with humour."
Vivek said a favourite scene revolved on Kalam's insistence that education should be available to all children irrespective of social status.
"In Saami, I take a poor dhobi's son for admission to a private school. The principal refuses for various reasons and finally he points to the boy's bare body. Immediately, I tear the furnishings off the office chair to convert them into clothes for the boy," he said.
Vivek, who directs his own comedy scenes, said he had ensured Kalam's photograph was prominently positioned in the principal's room.
It was on Kalam's insistence at a 2010 meeting that Vivek embarked on a tree-planting mission.
"When I suggested to him that roping in Amitabh Bachchan or Aamir Khan instead of a comedian known only in Tamil Nadu would ensure bigger success for the project, Kalam replied that we should begin somewhere and his home state was the best place."
The actor said that, as promised, Kalam showed up in Cuddalore in 2012 when the project touched the 20 lakh-saplings mark. "He urged me to continue till a crore. I promised myself today that I will fulfil his wishes."
How come a man of science shared such a bond with an actor? "I had enormous respect for the man and his thoughts. He reciprocated with love," Vivek said.
