Actor turned part-time politician Kamal Haasan fails to call out molester, laughs instead

Television host and part-time politician Kamal Haasan has glorified the molestation of women in a reality show Big Boss Tamil, which he hosts as “People’s Representative”. Weekend episodes of Big Boss Tamil, which Kamal Haasan circuitously capitalizes on to score political points, are dedicated to the host, to interact with the contestants and address their troubles. On Saturday, the famous actor who is lauded for Gender neutrality and social justice glorified the act of one of the contestants who had admitted to molesting women in public transport. Kamal Haasan was defending one of the contestants in the house who was taunted for inappropriate behavior with a fellow woman contestant.

Kamal Haasan said “In public transports, you can find people deliberately molest women. At the same time, people are rushing to work in the peak morning hours. There’s a huge difference.” While Haasan tried to convey a message which takes a conscious stand, he did not bother to condemn the statement by actor Saravanan, one of the housemates who had excitedly admitted to such doing immoral activities. Saravanan said “I have done these things during my college days” – He did not admit it with regret. He was all smiles!

To add on, it’s worrying to note that the audience who were hired to clap and engage with the host during the show ignored the sexist remarks and clapped and celebrated the whole episode along with the host of Big Boss Tamil, Kamal Haasan. The audience section also included women of all age groups. Big Boss Tamil attracts a large number of fan following and people have dedicated a WhatsApp group to debate and discuss various incidents in the house. Kamal Haasan, who often debates on women empowerment and equality, lacked the spine to admonish the Saravanan and those in the audience who whistled and clapped on hearing such despicable confession. Most importantly, fake feminists and Tamil Nadu journalists Whatsapp group have completely gone on incognito mode and few have taken a very light stand to question Kamal Haasan and the Big Boss Tamil team. 

The part-time politician Kamal Haasan, who is eyeing greater political fortunes, should be wary of such incidents as this sets the wrong precedent in the society. Although Kamal Haasan is already known for his controversial political views, his conduct in the Big Boss Tamil show supporting a molester by not calling him out neither the cheering crowd, should further hurt his image. The younger generation is keenly following such reality shows and egregious remarks like this will jeopardize their character.