Kamal Haasan: Hinduism did not exist during Raja Raja Chola times

In a recent press interaction to congratulate the Ponniyin Selvan-I team, Kamal Haasan was asked to respond to director Vetrimaaran’s comments about Raja Raja Chola not being a Hindu king, which drew criticism from certain political outfits. Kamal Haasan backed the filmmakers statement by saying, “The term Hinduism did not exist during Raja Raja Chola times, it was a name given to us by the British, we had Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Samanam during those times.” 

When reporters probed more on the subject, the actor further elucidates, “Back then we had different religions, and then during the 8th century, Adi Shankara brought all the deities under Shanmata Sthapanam. This is history, we’re not supposed to talk about history here, because we’re here to talk about historical fiction, so let’s not fictionalise history” he then goes on steer the conversation back to Ponniyin Selvan-I, “Let’s talk about all these amazing artists and their effort in the film.”

The actor-politician, who is currently busy wrapping up the filming for India 2, congratulated the cast and crew of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan-I. He had earlier tried to adapt the book himself, which did not come to fruition.