Kamal Haasan, who began his political tour this morning, addressed the press from his hotel in Rameswaram. While the earlier meeting with fisher-folk at Rameswaram’s Ganesh Mahal seemed to have disappointed a few who had arrived there with petitions, the new politician made quick amends, turning over the stage to a representative of the fishermen. Later, addressing the press, he said: “Thousands await me in Madurai, and I want to hoist my flag and talk about my ideologies there. Kalam is someone I admire, and there was nothing political about my visit to his school. I have been denied permission to visit; they [TN Government] can deny permission, but they cannot stop me from learning. That will continue. I have overcome several challenges to achieve success in films. I shall do the same here.”
To a question about his political principles, Kamal said. “I had a conversation with Chandrababu Naidu [CM of Andhra Pradesh] in the morning. He told me not to worry about principles and to just focus on working on my manifesto. ‘Isms won’t work,’ he said, and that’s something I believe in too. He’s a hero of mine.”
The actor-politician then went on to talk about the difference between both fields, describing his stint in cinema as something of a barter. “In cinema, I got paid for my talent. In politics, my talent and my money are for the people. I have more responsibility here.”
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Kamal also tackled a question on the rise in the number of actors turning politicians. “The occupation of someone is not important,” he declared, “Back then, there were several lawyers like Rajaji and Ambedkar who held posts. Nobody questioned them.”
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Read: Kamal Spoke About His Beliefs In The 1988 Film ‘Unnal Mudiyum Thambi’: A Bangalore Supporter