Ramya says she has eyes only for her fans

As star avoids glitterati and spends birthday in simple fashion with fans who lunch with her and pledge to donate their eyes, the question thrown up is whether politics is next for her

As star avoids glitterati and spends birthday in simple fashion with fans who lunch with her and pledge to donate their eyes, the question thrown up is whether politics is next for her

Film star Ramya's simple birthday celebrations on Sunday indicated there may be more in all that talk about her turning to politics some time in the near future than she will admit at this stage.

She looked like a leader in the making when she marked the occasion along with a selected list of fans at an event dedicated to eye donation.

There were no fellow actors or family around when 75 fans from among her Facebook friends enjoyed lunch at the Taj Westend.

Dr Bhujanga Shetty of Narayana Netralaya was a happy man to find so many eye donors at one go, thanks to Ramya choosing to celebrate her birthday in this manner.

Birthday girl: Ramya celebrates her 27th birthday with actress Roopa Iyer in Bangalore.

'True supporters'

Ramya said she made it a point to spend time with her fans without any pressures that come with the presence of the glitterati at other, more high profile dos.

"These are the people who actually watch films, and they are my real supporters. I want to show them that I am with them," she said.

She plans to call her Facebook friends in batches to meet her, and the people at her birthday party were the first batch. The second batch will watch the Ramya-starrer 'Jothegaara' before its release next month. And one of the batches will also take part in the launch of her next film.

Political plunge?

Is it a bid to build a strong base of supporters before she takes the plunge into political waters?

A sheepish smile on her face was the instant reply, then she brushed the topic aside.

"Don't read too much into it," she said. "I haven't thought of it."

However, in a sense she did not deny that she was interested in entering politics, saying it was a distant scenario at present.

"I am too young to be a politician," she said.

The Krishna touch

Ramya was touted to be the Congress candidate from Mandya before the country went for parliamentary polls earlier this year. When actor-politician Ambarish was reluctant to seek re-election from the constituency, supporters of former chief minister S M Krishna had pushed for Ramya, but then, Ambarish finally obliged.

Ramya's mother Ranjitha is known be close to Krishna and is an active member of the Mandya Congress. Her star daughter has a huge fan following in Mandya and the district is considered to the ideal launch pad for her in politics.

Ranjitha had campaigned for Gurusharan, nephew of Krishna, when he contested the Maddur bypoll last year on a Congress ticket.