There seems no end to detractors of Kollywood actor Kamal Haasan, lately. Last week, the Hindu Makkal Katchi demanded that the show he hosts, Bigg Boss be banned for ‘tarnishing Tamil culture’. And now political leaders, ministers no less, have joined the hate brigade against the actor.
On Sunday, Law Minister CV Shanmugam launched a personal attack against Kamal, accusing him of “going against Tamil and Indian culture” by having a live-in relationship. This comes just a day after Municipal Administration minister SP Velumani threatened to probe into the actor’s tax history, to find evidence of wrongdoing. For these leaders, it is the actor’s statement that corruption exists in all departments of the government that has become the catalyst.
"He has no right to talk about all this. He is struggling to make money now. He is not getting any chances in films and is a third-rate actor," said minister Shanmugam to the media in Villupuram.
"Kamal Haasan has no right to talk about women. He went against Tamil and Indian culture and had a live-in relationship with an actor. He then abandoned her. He has no right to talk about us or anybody else in this country," he fumed.
That was not all. Shanmugam went on to say that the actor would do anything for money and should be arrested for the content on his show. "He is conducting a programme called Bigg Boss for money. It is happening under his supervision. There is derogatory content about people from lower castes in Bigg Boss. Action must be taken against him in the Atrocities against SC/ST Act," he proclaimed.
On Friday, Minister Velumani had similarly bristled at the suggestion that there was corruption in the TN government.
"I will conduct an audit to check if the actor had properly paid taxes for his films," the Municipal Administration minister, told The Hindu. “Is there any evidence (for Kamal) to prove that corruption prevails in various government departments? If so, let him prove it.”
Recently, Kamal has been stridently outspoken on a variety of current issues, making strong comments on social media and in the mainstream media. In the last few days, however, the actor’s comments have earned him the ire of various groups of people. While activists have been complaining about his decision to reveal the name of the female actor who was abducted and sexually assaulted in Kerala in February, politicians in Tamil Nadu are fuming over his allegations of corruption.
Higher education minister K.P. Anbazhagan had earlier said that Kamal Haasan was not “a human being worth consideration”. Finance Minister D Jayakumar, on the other hand, had accused the actor of indulging in loose talk. “He should not speak in vague terms. He must come up with evidence”, the finance minister had told media persons.