Kamal Haasan on Friday released a video message addressing the impact of the ongoing Iran war on India, urging citizens and governments alike to adopt energy-saving measures and prepare for economic challenges arising from the global crisis.
In the nearly four-minute-long address, the actor-politician warned that rising oil prices and disruptions in sea trade routes were already making “the energy that powers our kitchen and homes, the fertilisers that nourish our fields and crops, and the fuel that drives our industries and vehicles” more expensive.
Referring to the global response to the crisis, Kamal Haasan said that “more than 60 countries have already imposed energy-saving rules", while citing how Lawrence Wong had asked citizens of Singapore to brace for difficult times.
“We are a much larger country, and our Prime Minister has asked us to save energy over the next year. In moments like this, national responsibility must rise above party politics,” he said.
Invoking former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Kamal quoted, “Governments will come and go, but the nation shall remain,” before drawing parallels with India’s past crises. He recalled how citizens donated gold during the Sino-Indian War and how former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had urged people to skip one meal a week during the food shortage crisis of 1965.
“Today, India does not need such sacrifice. Surely, we must do this for a country when our parents did much more,” he said.
Calling himself a centrist, Kamal Haasan also acknowledged the central government’s efforts in the energy sector. He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India’s solar and wind energy capacity had increased over the last decade. He further welcomed recent investments in coal gasification, renewable energy and nuclear energy, describing them as “important steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas".
However, the Rajya Sabha MP stressed that the burden of the crisis should not fall on citizens alone. He urged the prime minister to convene a national summit of all chief ministers and called for coordinated action between the centre and states.
Kamal specifically appealed for a reduction in state VAT on petrol and diesel while also seeking lower train, metro and bus fares to encourage people to move away from private vehicles. “Every unit of energy saved today strengthens India tomorrow. And every drop of oil saved protects the poorest Indian from inflation,” he said, adding that “geopolitics will affect pedestrians on the street as much as the high-flying rich.”
“But if we face this crisis together, India will and can emerge stronger. Jai Hind,” he concluded.
On the work front, Kamal Haasan will reunite with Rajinikanth after a long time for a film, tentatively titled KH x RK, to be directed by Nelson. The actor is also working on KH237, directed by Anbariv.