BENGALURU: Even as super stars Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Upendra are taking a plunge into politics, versatile actor Prakash Raj has disapproved of the trend. Entering politics because they are actors is a disaster for the country, he said.
Prakash Raj ruled out any possibility of him joining politics or being a mouthpiece of any leader or party. Participating in ‘Meet the Press’ programme of Bengaluru Press Club on Sunday, he said, “I am not joining any political party. “
“I will support them (actors) only if they prove that they share my concern and understand the problems plaguing society,” Prakash Raj said and called upon the ardent fans of the stars not to vote as a fan. “Ask questions and get answers. If answers are convincing then only you can support the actor concerned,” he added without naming any actor. He expressed his opposition to the trend of actors capitalising on their filmy popularity to emerge as political leaders.
The actor who has been critical of Prime Minister Modi has drawn the ire of BJP and RSS leaders in Karnataka after he hit out at Modi for his silence on the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru.
Expressing concern at the recent controversy over Tamil film Mersel, he said, when Mersel represented GST wrongly, they should have asked why and corrected that. Attacking the hero of the film based on religion and branding is not right in a democratic system. They should have resorted to a democratic dialogue, he said.
On national anthem and patriotism
On the row over national anthem being played at cinemas, Prakash Raj said, “I don’t think someone should stand in cinema hall and show his or her patriotism.”