Film stars in the Southern states of India not only have a large and devoted following but also do tremendous amount of charity work alongside their acting work.
1. Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi first laid the foundation of the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust (CCT) in 1998, which works with eye banks and blood banks. The actor himself is a regular blood donor. Several times, he encourages his social media fans to donate blood.
Chiranjeevi was the first Telugu actor to recognise the seriousness of the Coronavirus and suspended production on his film, Acharya. He established Corona Crisis Charity, a committee to address the problems of Telugu industry daily wage employees. The initiative was formed in association with Apollo 24/7, where a vaccination drive was held for the workers of the industry and film journalists.
Given the scarcity of medical oxygen during the second wave, the veteran actor had launched an effort to establish “oxygen banks” across Telugu-speaking states. Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust took on the mission of assisting COVID-positive patients, and the effort was overseen by the celebrities themselves including his son, film star Ram Charan. Chiranjeevi established an ambulance service after the vaccination drive, which first began in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, to ensure that people do not experience any problems with ambulance services.
2. Dhanush
Choreographer Siva Shankar was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad after he caught coronavirus in 2021. The first celeb to react to the news and come out with a helping hand was actor Dhanush. He gave Rs. 5 lakh to the family Siva Shankar towards meeting the high medical expenses. Dhanush’s team was also in touch with the patient’s family, regarding the developments in treatment.
National award-winning actor Dhanush helps the needy without publicising it. In 2017, he donated Rs. 50,000 to the families of 125 farmers that have committed suicide. The decision to help the farmers was taken after director Subramania Siva screened the documentary Kolai Vilayum Nilam, which was directed by journalist Rajiv Gandhi.
In 2015, the actor had come to the rescue of old actress-singer Paravai Muniamma. She is suffering from ill health and was left with no income. The actor had come forward and donated Rs. 5 Lakh for her medical expenses. Another Tamil actor Vishal also agreed to give her a pension of Rs. 5000 per month for as long as she lives. He also agreed to sponsor the education, food and other needs of two slum kids from the film Kaaka Muttai till they turn 21 years old.
3. Mohanlal
Apart from pursuing a busy acting career, Mohanlal is very active in charitable activities. He runs the non-profit organization Vishwasanthi Foundation, which is named after his parents, Vishwanathan Nair and Santhakumari. On the actor’s 61st birthday, ViswaSanthi Foundation distributed 200 beds with oxygen support, and 10 beds with ventilator support to various hospitals across Kerala. The news was shared by Mohanlal himself through his official social media pages.
Amritadhara is a joint healthcare initiative between Mohanlal’s nonprofit and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. The project started off with the assistance directed at the surgeries to rectify congenital heart issues in children below the age of 10. The project scope was later widened to encompass several other surgical procedures for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
In 2019-20, the trust started the Viswasanthi Tribal health project by providing surgical services to the tribal patients of Attappady, a tribal region in Palakkad district of Kerala. The surgeries were provided fully free of cost to the tribal patients. Mohanlal and his team are building homes under the Santhi Bhavan Project for those who are affected by disaster, flood victims, and families that are financially challenged.
