A couple of days after Twitteratis wondered what #Pray for Nesamani was all about, vendors are cashing in on the Nesamani merchandise in the garment hub, Tirupur. Taking a stroll across Kumaran Road that houses several wholesale and retail textile shops, one would get to see a variety of customised Nesamani T-shirts being sold. Veeka Customwear, owned by director Vimal, was reportedly the first to launch T-shirts with prints of comedian Vadivelu.
“We mostly sell T-shirts with prints of social media trends and sensations. Initially, we printed only 30 pieces of ‘Pray for Nesamani’ T-shirts in wrinkle-free synthetic and cotton fabric - priced at `250 and `350 respectively - in sizes ranging from small to XXL. We were surprised to see around 300 pieces being sold in a couple of days. Earlier, we have also sold T-shirts with prints of Game of Throne’s ‘Winter is coming’ and ‘Summer is coming’, and Sarkar,” said Vimal, who has been in the business for quite a while now. He also recalled how ‘Harahara Mahadeva’ T-shirts were sought after a few years ago.
Explaining how ‘Pray for Nesamani’ merchandise has become the apple of youngsters eyes, shopkeeper K Manikandan said, “Although Vadivelu is not doing many movies now, the craze for his comedy has never ceased. This is also a reason for a boost in the sale of ‘Pray for Nesamani’ T-shirts among those between 18-25 years of age.”
Vineeth, a textile salesman said, “Those looking for trendy merchandise do not look for brands. Hence, the market for customised T-shirts has increased over a short period of time. ‘Pray for Nesamani’ T-shirts is a big hit in Tirupur. Now, hundreds of printing companies are customising their own versions of this idea to attract customers.”
Fully Filmy, Crazy Punch and Mital are some of the other authorised T-shirt dealers selling ‘Pray for Nesami’ T-shirts in the district.‘Contractor Nesamani’ is a fictional character played by Vadivelu in the movie ‘Friends’.
