Why Hindu hardliners hate Kamal Haasan, but can't stop him
There are two things that can never be separated from Kamal Haasan, alias Ulaganayagan (universal protagonist) — perfection and controversy.
At present, a Hindu-fringe group has problems with Bigg Boss Tamil and has filed a complaint against Haasan for hosting the reality show. They have accused him of targetting the Hindu culture. They feel the show has introduced the "jallikattu girl Juliana" with a "different" intention.
The reason right-wing groups hate Kamal Haasan so much is not because of any one thing that has occurred in the recent past, but a series of events in the form of movies that the actor's work comprises.
Right from Sigappu Rojakkal, where he plays a psycho killer who stalks women and kills them if they are found having an affair, Kamal Haasan has always had a love-hate relationship with fans.
There are even allegations of him chasing away some by letting the dogs loose on them after the success of his movie, Sathya. Yet his fans never let go of him, mainly because of his mesmerising acts on the silver screen, turning himself into the character itself whom he is portraying.
Very few actors in Tamil cinema have the guts to play the eponymous role of "Gunaa", a man born to a prostitute, who stalks a lady and dies along with her after winning her heart.
The critically acclaimed movie also faced flak for how it portrayed sex workers. Some alleged that such portrayals might lead to "accepting" them as "normal" people and cause damage to India's sacred culture.
In Kuruthipunal (River of Blood), Haasan played the role of an army intelligence officer who sacrificed his life for the nation, much to the grief of the Tamil audience who are not used to seeing their hero dying in a movie.
But much like the character in Gunaa, Haasan, who also produced Kuruthipunal, showed the harassment that widows and family members of army officers face, no matter what kind of martyr status the soldier gets.
With Kuruthipunal, Haasan once again portrayed the harsh realities of India, giving the cold shoulder to right-wing activists and the "upholders of Indian culture" who were trying hard to censor these realities from reaching the common man (much like the fact that even though the Indian map shows whole of Kashmir belonging to India, only two-thirds of it is with the nation).
Another clash with the right-wing groups occurred over his movie, Hey Ram, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan. The film, produced and directed by Haasan, deals with the highly controversial Partition of India and Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.
Haasan played the role of Saketh Ram, an easy-going archaeologist who gets married to Rani Mukherjee. He, however, transforms into a brutal assassin (much like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver) and plans to avenge his wife's death by killing Mahatma Gandhi.
Haasan invited the wrath of both the RSS and some Muslim groups for the character portrayals of many historic figures in the movie. His physical and mental transformation from an archaeologist to an assassin, how he gets back to his senses after the death of his Muslim friend (played by Shah Rukh Khan) in his lap were no short of epic.
Yet all that the right-wing outfits could see was the "romance" between him and Rani Mukherjee and her brutal rape and murder in the film. But all this didn't deter Haasan.
Back in Tamil Nadu, Haasan has always loved to focus on the warrior community, Thevars. His movie, Thevar Magan, was a huge success, but politically unappreciated for showing Thevars (as well as some other castes) as a people practising untouchability in Tamil Nadu.
His second movie of the same genre, Virumandi, showed the nasty face of the caste and ran into great deal of trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification due to political pressure. Haasan was eventually forced to change the movie's title from Sandiyar (originally) to Virumandi.
Yet, all that didn't stop Haasan.
In another masterpiece, Dasavatharam (10 avatars), Kamal Hassan played the role of Rangaraja Nambi, a devoted temple priest to Lord Vishnu who opposed King Kulothunga Chola, a Saivite Chola King in 12th century, and was finally drowned when Rangaraja was tied to the idol of his beloved God's deity and thrown into the sea.
Haasan faced fierce opposition from Hindu extremists, as he dug out a piece of history, questioning the unity of the religion (Hinduism) by portraying how Saivites (followers of Shiva) and Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu) have hated each other and indirectly claiming that Hinduism is not a religion, but just a common word depicting various sects.
The present-day guardians of Hinduism were not able to digest it, wanted to oppose him but couldn't do anything as Haasan only portrayed a picture perfect piece of censored, hidden history.
The actor's tempestuous past and present show that there's nothing that can stop him from entering the eye of the storm, and yet keep going!