In the month of June in 2006, after the first monsoon rains had fallen in Tamil Nadu, the Rajinikanth fan Thengai Selvam asked the owner of a plot of land if he could get permission to use its compound wall for a mural displaying his favourite film star Rajinikanth. The wall was located on a visible location: in the outskirts of Puducherry close to Selvam's home and on a main thoroughfare to the next town of Cuddalore. Selvam's mother knew the owner so he got permission to use the wall, and he was pleased that he did not have to pay any rent for using it. Along with his friend Ranjit, who worked as a cutout and billboard artist, and despite the monsoon, Selvam worked on the thirty-metre-long wall that consisted of several images of Rajinikanth and was dedicated to the release of the film Sivaji: The Boss (Figure 16). The monsoon caused difficulties in painting for Selvam and Ranjit. They constructed little shelters to cover themselves and their painting from the rain. It took them twenty days to finish the painting.

Selvam paid his friend Ranjit with a small amount of money but mostly with liquor and cigarettes, which they consumed together at Selvam's home. He spent Rs 10,000 in total (around 160 Euros at the time) on the painting (materials and the payment for Ranjit), an enormous amount considering his modest earnings selling coconuts, but he certainly wanted to do this in dedication to his superstar. Selvam explained to me that he felt a strong urge to show Rajinikanth his love for him. For Selvam, producing images of Rajinikanth felt like an obligation towards his star, but it also made his star come close. What kind of communicative act is going on here? What kind of affective mediation do public images entail as expressions of love of a fan towards a star? For whom are these images made and what does it say about the ways in which fans mediate their desires and ambitions?

Selvam could use the wall for a year. However, slowly the rain, beating sun, and humidity caused the mural to degrade, and exactly a year later the mural started to be covered with posters of political parties, advertising, and other ‘competitors’.