Director Ameer has criticised Rajinikanth and other actors who supported PM Narendra Modi’s demonetisation initiative for following a “herd mentality” and not being better informed about the issue. At a recent event, Ameer accused Rajinikanth of “double standards” and asked, “Does Rajinikanth know how much his Kabali tickets sold for? Can he show the money earned as white money? While the tickets were sold way above the rates fixed by the government, would that not account to black money?”
Earlier, actor Rajinikanth had tweeted:
Hats off @narendramodi ji. New india is born #JaiHind
— Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) November 8, 2016
In conversation with Silverscreen, Ameer said that he was “fed up” with celebrities who cherry-picked social causes to support. “Everybody is trying to get on the demonetisation bandwagon because it is cool. They are not using their minds for this. It’s herd mentality. Just because everybody is supporting something, these actors also follow them.”
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Ameer clarified that he had no personal animosity towards Rajinikanth, but that he finds it distressing when public figures make ill-informed comments about social issues. “It is cool in this society to support social causes. Actors start charities because it is the thing that will get them supporters. Not because it is the right thing to do, or because they genuinely feel the need to do it. With the kind of publicity they get, they should use it wisely. They should at least do some basic research before giving out their opinions on social issues.”