For the coming-of-age ceremony for his daughter, Rajini Shankar, the Rajinikanth district fan club leader of Puducherry, organized a grand event that resembled more of a political spectacle than a family event. The family did not only invite relatives and friends, but Shankar also invited several fan club leaders and regionally well-known political personae such as the then Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, the late political strategist M. Natarajan, and several local MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) whom Shankar knows well. The mandapam (reception hall) could be seen from afar as it had been transformed with impressive light decorations. Huge banners announced the event in front of the reception hall (Figure 13), an elephant greeted the guests at the entrance and the guests were served freshly made grape juice before entering the hall. The elaborate decorations, more than usual, already indicated that something special was going on here. Behind the mandapam, a group of around ten were preparing the typical celebrative Biryani meal in enormous cooking pots. The hall was divided in two, with stages on either side. On one side a large stage was set up for the fan club and political guests and on the other side, the religious ritual of Shankar's daughter would take place. The guests’ chairs were facing each other so that the guests could watch both sides of the mandapam. Various cameramen covered the guests who waited patiently for Shankar's family and the political guests to arrive, zooming in and out on the slightly bored faces. A screen broadcast images of the function live so that guests could watch themselves and the event they were participating in from a distance.

Finally, after a long time of waiting, Shankar arrived with his wife and their dressed-up daughter. Just at this moment of excitement, coincidently, the honorary guest and politician M. Natarajan arrived as well. While everyone was first trying to get a glimpse of the family, the eyes of the guests and the cameramen turned away from Shankar's daughter and everyone stood up for Natarajan's arrival.