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One nation, one election proposal is 'dangerous', flawed and its scars still exist in some countries and hence it is not needed for India and it will not be required in future too, top actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder leader Kamal Haasan said here on Saturday. Without naming any party or leader, Haasan said had simultaneous polls been held in 2014 or 2015, it would have led to a complete sweep, resulting in dictatorship, loss of freedom of speech and dominance of a single leader. "You should understand that we have escaped from it...we have escaped from a disease more virulent than Coronavirus," he said addressing a party meet, apparently indicating that polls about a decade ago had been conducted without embracing the one nation, one election concept. Though Haasan pointed to Europe and Russia when he commented on simultaneous polls, he did not specify any single country where it had failed. What would happen if all traffic lights glow in the same colour at the same time, he
Director Nag Ashwin's 3D sci-fi spectacle "Kalki 2898 AD" has grossed Rs 555 crore worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend, the makers said on Monday. Mounted on a reported budget of Rs 600 crore, the multilingual movie features a star-studded cast of Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. Previously titled "Project K", "Kalki 2898 AD" is billed as a fusion of the Hindu epic Mahabharata and science fiction and is produced by Vyjayanthi Movies. Vyjayanthi Movies shared the latest box office figures on its official X page, with the caption: "555 CRORES & counting "The BIGGEST FORCES are dominating the GLOBAL BOX OFFICE, show no signs of slowing down #Kalki2898AD #EpicBlockbusterKalki @SrBachchan @ikamalhaasan #Prabhas @deepikapadukone @nagashwin7 @DishPatani @Music_Santhosh @VyjayanthiFilms @Kalki2898AD @saregamaglobal @saregamasouth." The film had a global release on Thursday in six languages: Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and ...
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said discussions were on for his party MNM's political alliance and stressed it would support any bloc that would "selflessly" think about the nation but desist from being part of "feudal politics." Addressing reporters here after leading the 7th anniversary celebrations of his Makkal Needhi Maiam, Haasan also welcomed the recent political entry of top Tamil actor Vijay. Asked if MNM will join the multi-party opposition INDIA bloc, he said, "I have already told, this is the time when you have to blur party politics and think about the nation. Anybody who thinks selflessly about the nation, my MNM will be part of it." However, MNM won't join hands with those doing "local feudal politics," he said. Asked if he has joined the INDIA grouping, he said, "no, I haven't." On his party's possible political alliance, he said "discussions are on," and that any "good news" in this regard will be communicated to the media. The question was asked in t
Having recently joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi, veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Sunday said he would have walked the streets of the national capital during the Emergency as well if he had that much sense of politics in the 1970s. Speaking on the concluding day of the sixth Kerala Literature Festival, the actor-turned-politician clarified that one should not mistake his being part of the yatra to leaning towards a "party" as he did that for a "united India". "...if I had this much sense of politics in the 1970s and there was Emergency, I would have walked the streets of Delhi. Please do not mistake this (my joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra) as my leaning towards a party; This was for a united India," Haasan said. The yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30 with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The Makkal Needhi Maiam chief said he joined polit
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra is a campaign that was beyond politics and stated there was a duty to 'reclaim' the country's "lost honour." Haasan had joined Gandhi in Delhi last month in the latter's pan-India foot march that started from Tamil Nadu in September last. "It is our responsibility to reclaim the lost ethos of our Bharat. This (Bharat Jodo campaign) is a yatra that is beyond politics," the actor-politician told reporters here. He further said he wanted to conduct the bulltaming sport 'Jallikattu' in Chennai and that efforts were on to secure permission for the same. The aim was to ensure the city-dwellers get a glimpse of the sport's glory, he added. Jallikattu is generally held in Madurai coinciding with the harvest festival Pongal in the second week of January.