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Kamal Haasan backs Tamil filmmaker, says ‘No Hindu religion in Chola Times’

Tamil director Vetrimaaran's comments saying 'there was no Hindu religion during Raja Raja Chola's times' has stirred controversy. Now, actor-politician Kamal Haasan has supported the filmmaker over his statement.

Kamal Haasan backs Tamil filmmaker says No Hindu religion in Chola Times drb
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First Published Oct 6, 2022, 5:53 PM IST

A controversy was sparked after National award-winning director Vetrimaaran claimed that Raja Raja Cholan was not a Hindu king. Actor Kamal Haasan flung straight into the middle of the controversy after he came out in support of the Tamil filmmaker, backing his statement.

The controversy over the king’s identity began when director Vetrimaaran said at an event, "Raja Raja Chozlan wasn`t Hindu but they (BJP) are trying to steal our identity. They have already tried to saffronize Thiruvalluvar. We should never allow that. "

His statement raised several eyebrows leading to a series of debates over the controversial statement. Kamal Haasan backed the filmmaker over his statement, saying, "There was no name called `Hindu religion` during Raja Raja Cholan`s period. There was Vainavam, Shivam, and Samanam, and it was the British who coined the term Hindu since they didn`t know how to refer to it collectively. It is similar to how they changed Thuthukudi into Tuticorin."

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Vetimaaran`s statement over the king’s identity came a day after the release of Mani Ratnam’s film `Ponniyin Selvan: I’ starring actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Chiyaan Vikram, among others. The film is inspired by Raja Raja Cholan’s fictional novel.

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While Kamal Haasan may have supported Vetimaaran over his statement, the Tamil filmmaker saw oppose from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with one of its leaders, H Raja, stating that Raja Raja Chola was indeed a Hindu king. 

Questioning Vetimaran over his statement, H Raja said, "I am not well versed with history like Vetrimaran, but let him point out two churches and mosques built by Raja Raja Cholan. He called himself Sivapadha Sekaran. Wasn`t he a Hindu then?".

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