Vishwaroopam:Kamal hits at Jaya, says he is not a politician

Hyderabad, Feb 9: Controversies surrounding his multilingual film "Vishwaroopam", actor-director Kamal Haasan says he is not a politician.

"I am not a politician. I can never be one. That's a dark river and I would just like to be on the banks of that river," the 58-year-old actor said in Hyderabad on Friday, Feb 8.

Probably, his statement was against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa who banned his film, after Muslims organisations protested against the film.

He also added that an artiste can never be responsible for any riots.

Speaking at a meeting, he said, "I am not angry (over the issue), only (felt) sorrow, that in a great country, free country like India, an artist would be insulted so. Because, very rarely have artistes been responsible for riots.

"We (artists) are the people who can stick the world together... They can do so many wonders. We are doctors, actually. You suspect that man to be a rabble-rouser or rioter, that is an insult.

"I am a son of Socrates. If you give me a cup of poison, I will sip it and speak my freedom."

Earlier, a group of Muslim organisations protested against the film. They said the film showcases Muslims in a bad light. Tamil Nadu government banned the film. "Thank you India. Thank You Tamil Nadu. See to it that artistes like me don't get into trouble again," said a hugely-relieved actor, after the film was released.

The ban on the film has been lifted after Kamal reached an agreement with the Muslim organisations.

Actor agreed to mute scenes that Muslim outfits found offensive in the government brokered meeting.

"Vishwaroopam" was already released in neighbouring states of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The film is doing well. Even the Hindi version of the film "Vishwaroop" is doing good business across North India.

OneIndia News