Kamal Haasan takes the political plunge, to float own party by September-end

Chennai: It seems that Kamal Haasan is all ready to dunk into the murky political battles of Tamil Nadu.

The veteran actor is likely to launch his own political party by the end of September, said sources. The local body elections will be held in November 2017.

Admitting that he wants to float his own party, the 62-year-old megastar told The Quint, “Yes I am thinking on those lines, not out of choice but compulsion. Which existent political party can provide me with a platform or an ideology that will match my reformatory goals in politics?”

Tamil Nadu has traditionally been a state where leading film actors transformed into leading mainstream politicians. This includes J Jayalalithaa, M G Ramachandran, and Vijayakanth.

After his meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on September 1, speculations were rife on his joining the CPI(M)

Dismissing such rumours, Haasan said, “...becoming a part of any political party is not a simple process of hopping, skipping and jumping in. A political party is about an ideology. And I don’t think my goals in politics can match the ideology of any political party.”

The actor wants to be accountable to the voters.

“Don’t vote me in and then wait for five years to vote me out. Sack me immediately if I don’t deliver. This is the only way change in the politics of the country can come about. Why only Tamil Nadu? You may ask. Well, I have to start somewhere. First I must clean my own home before I start on the neighbours,” he added.

In the past few weeks, the veteran actor has publicly spoken up against the current AIADMK government. He also called the ouster of AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala as a “solid step forward.”

Haasan is currently filming reality television show The Bigg Boss.