Kamal Haasan defends himself from fundamentalist attack

18 Mar 2017

It takes a lucid mind to wade through the chaos of contemporary India.KamalHaasanis never afraid to speak his mind.His recent statement on theMahabharataon Tamil news channel where he stated that a scripture that speaks of a woman (Draupadi) being gambled away is honoured by India has incurred the wrath of a Hindu outfit. ButKamalHaasanknows what he was talking about. I said were stuck in the chapter ofMahabharatadescribing the gambling. We venerate the worst part in even the best books. In a similar vein, I have said many good things in my interview about both Hindus and Muslims. To a question, Do you dislikeBrahmins? I said, I cant possibly, as my mother and father and most of my family are it. It is like asking do you dislike humans? No, I cant live without them, even my religious friends. I take all criticism about my rationalism from them with humour. I would suggest they do too. If I were to believe in the stories of the all mightiness of gods, then Gods do not need mortals to defend them, do they? Tongue-in-cheekKamalHaasanpuns, For Gods sake, lets stop fighting. There are so many imminent things to fight about. I love reading all the mythological stories. I was brought up on them. Lets not lose our sense of humour and compassion. I dont tolerate you (the others) I have accepted to live with you. So you too dont tolerate me, accept me. There is a point of exasperation with tolerance. With acceptance, beginsdialogueand sometimes banter too. The fearless artiste inKamalHaasanfeels its time for Indians to go beyond nit-picking. Wake up India.JaiRamjiki, JaiJesus ki, JaiDarwinki, JaiMusalmaan ki, Jaihumankiand ohJaiHanuman kitoo! Come on, guys. We got to go one step further than even Make In India. Lets make India itself. India , the updated version. If its not too late already.