The row over Kamal Hassan’s latest flickhas left me disappointed, dejected and irritated over the way our system works. This incident clearly establishes how politics has dug its roots deep into Indian Cinema as well.
We live in a system where Politics overpowers creativity and art, where an artist’s worrk, despite being approved by the official Censor board can be ‘Unofficially barred’ by the moral police of our country. Kamal Hassan’s incident is not the first time fundamentalists from one side have chose to interfere into work of art. Fire, Bombay, Kahani kursi ki and many other films were dragged into similar controversies. And in most of the cases, the government stays away to keep their vote bank safe. It doesn’t end here, the opposition parties look at this as a way to gain some political mileage.
And while all this happens, the media manipulates, twists, turns and totally reshapes the incident into a TRP machine. The Judiciary of India moves at its snail’s pace. The artist, who in this case is Kamal Hassan has no option but to stand and absorb all the happenings. And if he dares to call a media conference and tried to explain the issue, his statements are misused and quoted against himself.
I feel bad for Hassan saab, who has been serving the industry with sheer brilliance for over a decade now. This is a reward we have given to an exceptional actor, film maker and producer for coming out and making use of his right to expression.
I congratulate the government of India, Tamilnadu, the vote hungry politicians, the Islamic fundamentalists who protested against the film without even watching it, for successfully dragging a gem of Indian cinema into this abbys from where there is no way out!
Well done!
The Rare View 