THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could act as a prelude to his entry into Tamil Nadu politics, actor Kamal Haasan on Friday called on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Cliff House here and termed the visit a “learning experience.” The actor said he had sought advice from Pinarayi regarding the formation of a new political outfit in Tamil Nadu and will take a call after meeting more politicians. “I will announce it later,” Kamal replied to a question on his entry into politics. “I have talked to the Kerala Chief Minister and taken his advice. I will meet many other political leaders before I take my call,” he said.
On the topic of the discussion, Kamal said: “I was asking him advice on how to not be sensational and instead do things that are sensible for people,” he said. “All my visits to Kerala are learning experiences. I think I have a lot to learn from the Kerala Chief Minister,” he said. “Why do you watch Kamal Haasan movies? It is because you like him. Just like that, everyone has a hero and, for me, Left leaders have been my heroes,” he said. “Look at the statistics and see where Kerala stands now. It gets a small amount of fund but is pushing for international standards. My admiration for the LDF Government is not blind, but one that comes from his administration,” Kamal said.
“I have been to Kerala earlier too. I had planned to come here last year but could not make it as I had met with an accident,” said Kamal who had lunch with Pinarayi. On whether his party would have a left-leaning, Kamal said, “My colour has become obvious from my many years in cinema. It is definitely not ‘saffron’. I want to be in the middle of things,” he said. Pinarayi said the two discussed politics during their meeting. “I held discussions with actor and director Kamal Haasan with whom I share a good friendship,” Pinarayi posted on Facebook soon after the meeting.
“We always try to meet whenever he visits Thiruvananthapuram. But this is the first time we met after I became the Chief Minister. It was purely a friendly visit, but politics was also discussed,” said Pinarayi. “We spoke about the issues being faced in South India in general and Tamil Nadu in particular,” he said.