Kamal Haasan is not just film personality and he has so many admirable traits that go beyond the glitzy walls of Kollywood. One such trait is that he is a voracious reader. Sources close to Ulaganayagan would say that the amount of time he spends in a day for his profession has never affected his daily reading habit.

As person who has well understood the importance of literature and writers in a society Kamal has been honoring a Tamil writer on his birthday and he has been following this practice for many years. For this purpose, the legendary actor has instituted an award in the name of his mother Rajalakshmi.

On account of his 61st birthday Kamal Haasan visited the house of senior Tamil writer Ki.Rajanarayanan at Pondicherry and handed over the Rajalakshmi Memorial Literature Award that includes a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, to the nonagenarian writer for his immense contribution to the modern Tamil literature. Writer Suka who has worked with Kamal Haasan in 'Papanasam' and 'Thoongavanam' accompanied him in his meeting with the great literary figure.

Rajanaryanan has written many Tamil novels and short stories. Most popular among his novels are Gopallapuram Gramam, Gopallapuram Makkal, Andhamana Nayakkar among others. He won the Sahithya Academy Award for his novel Gopallapuram Gramam in the year 1990.