I will not return awards, says Kamal Haasan
Renowned actor Kamal Haasan has made it clear that he will not return an award that has been conferred on him by the Government.
The actor stated in Hyderabad on Tuesday, “I understand that those returning awards are doing so as a mark of protest, a symbolic gesture and I don’t insult their move.” Speaking of his own choices, he reiterated that he wouldn’t return an award.
“I will not return any award or for that matter, the money I’ve earned. Let’s say I am angry with the entire film fraternity and want to make a point. I may return awards, but I won’t be able to return the money I’ve earned through cinema all these years. I’ve invested all that I earned in my projects. Even if I have so much money, I won’t give it away.”
Kamal Haasan was in Hyderabad on Tuesday to promote his noir thriller Cheekati Rajyam (Thoongavanam in Tamil) and made his stance clear: “Awards are given by a jury in recognition of work done by creative people. It has nothing to do with a government.”
His remarks came in the wake of several writers and other eminent personalities returning awards including those conferred by Sahitya Akademi as a mark of protest to the growing intolerance in different spheres.
Kamal Haasan took the opportunity to underline the fact that creative minds rise above religious borders. “I take inspiration from people like Gulzaar saab. When I think of him, only his poetry comes to mind. I don’t think if he is a Sikh or if he converted to Islam. It is the same case when we talk about K. Balachandar; we don’t think which caste he belongs to.”
His own films Viswaroopam and Uttama Villain ran into rough weather prior to release owing to protests from fringe groups.
The actor said, “Mistakes that have been done to me have been done by a different set of people. I will fight those battles separately.” When asked if the rise in intolerance can be attributed to the BJP Government, he remarked, “The BJP wasn’t in power when Hey Ram or Vishwaroopam was released. Any group, be it Congress, BJP, RSS or Muslim League is equally intolerant. But everyone expects me to be tolerant and cut my film.”