Actor Kishore, whose latest film Mellisai recently hit theatres, has stirred political debate following remarks he made against PM Modi during an interview with a YouTube channel while promoting the film.
When asked what he would change if given an opportunity, Kishore responded with a sharply political answer.
“I don’t know if you’ll telecast it, but I’ll say it anyway. I’ll go back to 2014 and change the Prime Minister. Will you telecast this? Go ahead, let’s see. India itself would have been different. So the amount of hatred we see today, oh, it’s very dangerous. It will take decades to change this. If it continues like this, very dangerous people.”
He went on to link what he described as rising hatred to global political trends.
“No, now even in this movie we are promoting, we talk about that love/affection. Without love, nothing exists. Humans can’t even live together without it. So, if you hate each other, how can you live together? That hatred is what they invest in to, and one man comes to power. So, they are very dangerous people. For any community, whether a small community, a country, or the whole world, very dangerous. Such people are in power now. Everywhere, majority it is them. Look at Trump, look at him (Modi), everyone’s like that. So, it’s quite dangerous for social animals like human beings.”
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Speaking about the Jana Nayagan issue and political participation, Kishore said he had not been able to take part in protests physically.
“I did not have time to go on the ground and protest so we only indulge in online activism. But everyone must have a chance. Anybody who wants to enter public life, politics isn’t a power position; it’s a job serving people. They are working for the people, servant.”
Drawing comparisons with past leaders, he added: “Jawaharlal Nehru said the same thing. He said he was the Pratham Sevak – the first servant. Modi said ‘Pradhan Sevak’ – when you say Pradhan, it indicates you are the main one. Jawaharlal Nehru said otherwise, in the socialist movement that is what happened.”
Kishore further spoke about democratic participation and institutional functioning.
“Everyone must have a chance. Anybody who wants to serve the people must have a chance. Politics that is curbing that is on the rise these days. Be it misusing democratic institutions, all this is there.”
He concluded by reiterating that his film’s core message of love and coexistence also applied to politics.
“Mainly the biggest damage they are doing is manufacturing hatred between people. We are living in one country, we cannot live without each other, we cannot sideline/exclude anyone, we have to live together and see each other daily, like a family. That is how we relate to the film Mellisai and the politics, how love and affection are important and if we destroy that, it is like destroying a house. All politicians are doing only that.”
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