Kamal Haasan, who is in Hyderabad to promote his forthcoming release Cheekati Rajyam, went on to make few bold statements. Talking about the ongoing ruckus of returning national awards by artists, Kamal Haasan stated that he is against the idea. "I will not return any award or for that matter, the money I've earned. Let's say I am angry with the entire film fraternity and want to make a point. I may return awards, but I won't be able to return the money I've earned through cinema all these years. I've invested all that I earned in my projects. Even if I have so much money, I won't give it away.", said the actor. Kamal further added that he is not against the people who are returning their awards as a mark of protest. "I understand that those returning awards are doing so as a mark of protest, a symbolic gesture and I don't insult their move." Justifying his stand,"Awards are given by a jury in recognition of work done by creative people. It has nothing to do with a government," Kamal reiterated. Kamal Haasan recalled that his own films Viswaroopam and Uttama Villain fell into troubles because of fringe groups. He opined that creative minds should rise above religions. "I take inspiration from people like Gulzaar saab. When I think of him, only his poetry comes to mind. I don't think if he is a Sikh or if he converted to Islam. It is the same case when we talk about K. Balachandar; we don't think which caste he belongs to," he quipped.
When puzzled if BJP has anything to do with the rising intolerance, "The BJP wasn't in power when Hey Ram or Vishwaroopam was released. Any group, be it Congress, BJP, RSS or Muslim League is equally intolerant. But everyone expects me to be tolerant and cut my film," Kamal remarked.
