Facing flak over his comments on right wing extremism, veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Tuesday said he never intended to hurt Hindus and opposed violence in the name of any religion. Addressing a press conference here coinciding with his 63rd birthday, amid expectations of a big announcement by him on his long hinted political entry, the actor said he was already there.”I am already here,” and was holding discussions with various experts on the matter, he said replying to a question. Referring to his write up in a Tamil weekly last week, the actor said violence in the name of any religion was not proper, adding it was not his “appeal” against violence but “apprehension.” “I don’t start with the intention of hurting Hindus,” he said adding he never used the word ‘terrorism’.
Haasan said he was not bothered about how many Hindus were present in that hall or even in the country but was concerned about those back at home. “I will be reduced to tears if they (family) deny me the weapon called love,” he said.Haasan recently courted controversy when he hit out at what he called Hindu extremism last week, claiming that right-wing groups have taken to violence because their earlier “strategy” has stopped working.A complaint has been filed against the actor in a court in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by his remarks.
“Earlier such Hindu right-wingers, without indulging in violence against those belonging to other religions, made the latter indulge in violence through their arguments and counter arguments,” he said in the controversial remarks. However, since “this old conspiracy” had begun to fail, the groups were indulging in violence, he said. “Extremism is in no way a (mark of) success or growth for those who call themselves Hindus,” he said in the writeup. Amidst a strong buzz of his possible political entry, the veteran actor announced the launch of a ‘digital platform’ which he said could act as a ‘whistle-blower’.
At the packed press conference, he said people can share complaints and their grievances on the app for possible redressal. Haasan said he will undertake a state-wide tour of Tamil Nadu. “#KH”, an app, will serve as a ‘digital platform’ and a ‘whistleblower,’ the veteran star said adding it was under testing and he could give a complete picture on it by January. The actor had been critical of the AIADMK government on corruption, drawing the ire of several ministers in recent past.
