Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan told a Tamil channel in an interview that in the Mahabharata, Panchali was used as a pawn while the men gambled and that she was used as a collateral.
The PIL comes after the 62-year-old, in a recent interview to a Tamil channel, made a comment about Mahabharata, the ancient Hindu epic.
The actor had said, “In Mahabharata, Panchali was used as a pawn while the men gambled. She was used as a collateral and India is a country that respects and honours a book that revolves around men using a woman to gamble away as if she was a mere object.”
The report by The Financial Express quotes Rama Ravikumar, the state secretary of HMK, as saying, “Kamal Haasan said that Mahabharata talks about a woman (Draupadi) who was used as a pawn and was gambled away, and that this country reads such a book. There was no need for him to say these things. It has hurt our sentiments and who is he to talk about the Mahabharata?”
“He does not have the guts to talk about any other religion. He is an anti-Hindu person, so we complained against him. We have been suffering for long but haven’t been saying anything,” said Ravikumar, daring Haasan to speak in a similar tone against the Quran or the Bible.
CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING HAASAN
From Jallikattu to Dravidian politics, the actor is not new to controversies. Hassan, who is now working on his film Sabash Naidu, has been in the spotlight for his Jallikattu statement and later for the statements on the Tamil Nadu politics as well. While the actor’s large fan base has been widely appreciative of his pro-activeness on social media, the latest has got him a lot of slack among the members of the Hindu religious group.
The attack on the actor has spurred the debate on freedom of speech and expression and intolerance towards individuals. “This is not the first time that Kamal has been attacked by religious fringe groups, earlier for Vishwaroopam too there was a lot of hue and cry by the Muslim groups in the state. The entire issue is a form of targeting by the AIADMK government against whom Kamal has been vocal,” said A Saravanan, DMK spokesperson.
Congress spokesperson in the state, Khushboo Sundar said, “We need to give Kamal his space, he is just coming out of a personal loss. What he said should be taken in the right context. While talking about women’s safety he has said this, it is an individual’s perspective. These fringe groups are doing this only to get publicity.”
This is not the first time that Kamal’s statement has got him into trouble. His movie Vishwaroopam also got in trouble after protests by Muslim groups in the state. His Jallikattu remark was also one of the instigators for the people’s protest in the state. Followed by this, he has been very vocal about the political turmoil in the state.
Earlier, Indian National League Party, an affiliate of the AIADMK in the state, filed a police complaint against Haasan for allegedly provoking general public against the elected representatives through his twitter posts
March 22, 2017 at 3:51 pm
The PIL filed against a renowned actor is unfortunate. His fundamental right of expression should be respected. His views must be taken as his personal viewpoint