Let Kamal Haasan be loud and clear in our Parliament
If Indian politics is a theatre, Tamil Nadu is a multiplex. Where cigarette flicks and dark glasses are the perennial symbols of style and substance, sycophancy does a tandava over psephology. And with the players ensconced in the ministerial thrones in Delhi, it is no longer just a southern delight. Arun Ram, Resident Editor, The Times of India, Tamil Nadu, who alternates between the balcony and the front row, says it incites as much as it excites. During the intervals, he chews on a bit of science and such saner things. LESS ... MORE
In Feb last year, this column analysed the possibility of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) getting into an electoral alliance with DMK and Kamal Haasan being offered a Rajya Sabha seat. Kamal campaigned for the DMK-led front that swept the polls. Now that DMK has kept its promise, 'Ulaganayagan' is set to make an entry into Parliament.
Whether one agrees with his politics or not, Kamal can perform well as a parliamentarian. Proud of his 'non-schooling', the actor is also a man of letters – written and spoken. Parliament, however, is not just a platform for oration. This is where Kamal will have to be more articulate.
Drop that frown, let me explain. Oration and articulation are different skills, though one needs knowledge to employ both. Someone like Shashi Tharoor embodies a perfect marriage of oration and articulation while being a fountainhead of clarity. Articulation, in simple terms, is the art of expressing one's ideas clearly. And what makes an effective parliamentarian is his ability to express not just clearly, but substantiate his arguments too (indeed there are scores of MPs who make hit-and-run remarks under the name of parliamentary privilege).
Was Kamal clear at the audio launch of his latest movie 'Thug Life' In Bengaluru last week when he said Tamil gave birth to Kannada? Yes. Did he substantiate it? No. When Kannadigas burst out in protest, Kamal said his was a 'statement of love' for Shivanna (Kannada actor Shivarajkumar). 'His father (Rajkumar) is like my father. We are a family, and so are the other languages.' Was there clarity? No. Kamal later said the debate should be left to historians and language experts. Touché!
Kamal is at his best when he delivers straight messages, sometimes through storytelling. I consider some of his best performances have been on the Bigg Boss stage as the anchor showing overzealous participants their place (and it's not always prompted). Those skills may come handy in Parliament.
Our Rajya Sabha has been vibrant with different voices, but most of the members from the fields of art, culture and sports have been virtually mute (Jaya Bachchan has been a delightful exception). Do you know that Olympic sprinter P T Usha is a member of Rajya Sabha? Ilaiyaraaja, who is heard in opera houses, is diligently silent in the house of elders. Sachin Tendulkar's debut speech in Rajya Sabha (demanding financial security for national-level athletes) was never delivered, owing to opposition bedlam over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Kamal's advantage is he is more political than any other film personality. His party may be conveniently called 'Maiam' (centre), but Kamal has been a proud rationalist and an unapologetic leftist, never shy of flaunting his ideology in his movies. 'Anbe Sivam' (Love is God), the 2003 Tamil movie that he scripted, is classic Kamal the communist. It sends the core message that's famously attributed to him much before the movie was made: I don't say there's no God; I say it would be good if there is God.
And he has fought many a political battle even before entering politics in 2018. When some sections protested against Kamal naming his 2004 release 'Sandiyar', a term that colloquially connotes a rowdy of a 'dominant' caste, the actor put out a home-made video that dripped of caustic sarcasm at his adversaries. 'I may now name it 'summa' (nothing),' he said. Finally, he had to change the title to 'Virumaandi'.
With such righteous anger and some rigorous homework, Kamal, 70, as a rational votary of Dravidian ideals and an advocate for greater federalism would find Rajya Sabha a new stage for his new avatar.
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