Kamal Haasan with Rajinikanth
Kamal Haasan with RajinikanthTwitter

The 'Nammavar' tag that featured before the name of Kamal Haasan in the launch posters of his political party is said to be the actor's strategy to take on superstar Rajinikanth.

Kamal Haasan is gearing up to launch his political outfit at a grand function to be held in Madurai on February 21. Before reaching the city, the actor toured Rameswaram. Posters welcoming him were put up in both the cities with 'Nammavar' tag before his name.

Many of his followers addressed him as 'Nammavar' Kamal Haasan and wished him good luck. This tag is creating a buzz on the social media. Siva Iswarya‏ (@sivaiswarya_r) tweeted, "Wishing #Nammavar @ikamalhaasan all the very best for his official entry into politics ! Hoping for big changes and great things to happen to our #TamilNadu #KamalHassan #KamalsPoliticalEntry #KamalPartyLaunch."

After paying tributes to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at his memorial, Kamal Haasan addressed the media in Rameshwaram. When a journalist asked him about the transition from Ulaganayagan to Nammavar, the actor said, "In the chronology of my film career, it was from Nammavar to Ulaganayagan. Now it's back to Nammavar again."

On a related note, Rajinikanth is also entering politics in Tamil Nadu but certain sections of people still consider him an outsider owing to his roots.

He was born in a Maratha family in Bengaluru and started his career as a bus conductor. But he made it big as an actor in Tamil film industry and went on to become a superstar.

Earlier, when he announced his political plans, some groups protested in front of his residence and opposed his entry in Tamil Nadu politics as he is an outsider.

Nammavar is a Tamil word, which means 'our' and some netizens claim that Kamal Haasan has a hidden agenda behind using this tag. They say that the actor must be using it to target Rajinikanth. 

Nithish‏ @iam_nithish

I feel there's a deliberate and purposive reason as to why #KamalHaasan is being addressed as *Nammavar* Is it to indirectly take on #Rajinikanth? Because he's still considered as an Outsider. #KamalHaasanPoliticalEntry #KamalPartyLaunch #Rajini #TamilNadu #Thalaivar

Parasaran‏ @parasajoy

Journalist: How has been the transition from Ulaganayagan to Nammavar?
Kamal: If you had seen my films in chronological order the transition has been from Nammavar to Ulaganayagan and its again back to Nammavar
Aandavar fr a reason #KamalPartyLaunch