CHENNAI: Actor Suriya’s comments on Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, has sparked much discussion in State. Addressing the media at an event promoting his next movie Kaappaan on Saturday, the actor said, “When Gandhi was assassinated, a lot of riots broke out in India. While everyone was cursing Godse, Periyaar said, ‘Bring Godse’s gun, let’s break it into pieces!’ When people around him gave him a confused look, he explained, ‘Blaming Godse for Gandhi’s death is similar to this. He is just a weapon. We need to look at the systems behind him, the ideologies that made him do what he did’.”
Suriya, who plays an officer of the National Security Guard trying to protect the Prime Minister from terrorist attacks in the KV Anand film, shared the anecdote while explaining that Kaappaan too deals with terrorism. The screenplay, he said, will ensure that you cannot pick any one individual as one responsible for all terrorism.
A video clip of Suriya’s comments have gone been widely circulated on social media, sparking heated debates on the actor’s political leanings.
Kaappaan, which also stars Mohanlal, Arya, Sayyeshaa and Boman Irani, is set for release this Friday.
CPM supports actor
Coimbatore: Actor Suriya’s comment on Nathuram Godse has garnered support from the CPM with the party’s State Secretary K Balakrishnan saying that targeting the actor for his statement is unacceptable.
“Every citizen of the country has the right to freedom of expression. As per the right, the actor has been expressing his views. He also expressed his opinion on the National Education Policy (NEP). We appreciate him for the comment. Now, quoting Periyar, he has rightly commented on Gandhi’s assassination. We hail his remark,” he said, while speaking in Coimbatore on Monday.ENS