I am against bans, be it on bulls or my films, says Kamal Haasan

The jallikattu protests were not sudden, but a symbol of discontent, he says.

Actor Kamal Haasan.

“I am against a ban of any kind, be it on bulls or on my films,” said actor Kamal Haasan here on Tuesday. Addressing media persons, he described the protests against the ban on jallikattu as a symbol of discontent.

“ My biggest worry was about the children and women there (at the protest venues) but then we saw that they were healthy, happy, sitting there amidst my brothers. I believe in people,” he said, giving his take on the protests.

Reflecting on the scenes at the Marina beach during the protests, Mr. Haasan stated that had M.G. Ramachandran been the Chief Minister, he would have come to the protest venue and addressed the agitators, adding, “If he had not been allowed to do that, he would have sat near the Commissioner’s office and declared that he too was fasting with them.”

The actor, who has been vocal on Twitter about the protests over the last week, had shared videos which had surfaced on Monday, showing people and police personnel indulging in violence. “I am shocked by these videos and I hope that some sort of reasonable explanation is given which will calm us down as this will really scare the common man,” he said.

Mr. Haasan added that he had spoken to Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in this regard.

“I do not think that these protests are anti-national in any way. There have been so many leaders who have demanded a separate Tamil state in the past. But that doesn’t mean they were all anti-national,” he said.

Asserting that movements like these would continue to gain momentum in the future, Mr. Haasan said that it was impossible to call for a ban on organisations like PETA. "We are a democratic county. There shouldn't be bans. Instead, there should be dialogue and discussion,” he said.

Referring to his film Virumaandi , Mr. Haasan averred that he was the only actor to have made a film on two important issues — jalikattu and the death penalty.

When asked if he would enter politics, Mr. Haasan said that while he would not enter the ‘edifice’ of politics, he was “revolving around it”.