'Religion and politics should be kept separate'

PUNE: He has explored and showcased mythology in various shades and in innovative ways in quite a few films, including the recent Dasavthaaram. So, there's hardly anyone better than national award winner, actor and filmmaker Kamal Hassan to speak on Mythology and Indian films. Held at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), as part of the seminar Cinema and literature: Questions and adaptation' on Sunday, the session not only saw Hassan in the chair, but also him speaking eloquently.
Other panellists included Telugu actor-writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, writer Devdutt Pattanaik and professor at FTII Suresh Chabria."I have come unprepared, but there are these little battles that I have been having with mythology that probably I deserve to be here," he said. "However, if anyone is hurt by my sentiments, know that the feeling is mutual," he added after a pause to a loud laughter from the audience.
Rao, who delivered the keynote address, said mythology is the metaphor of the society, something that can define a society. Since the time cinema began in India, mythology has proved to be a treasure trove. Numerous successful films can prove that."
Explaining the idea, Chabria said, "The concept of the wronged son, for example, is based upon Karna's story from the Mahabharata' and today we can see numerous films based on this, a good example would be the Tamil film Thalapathy' and the Hindi Trishul'."
Pattanaik spoke about the difference between mythology in Hollywood and Bollywood. He said in the West, mythology is more or less referred to as history unlike us. And this tells us that mythology is a subjective truth of people revealed through stories and the way they see the world. "I firmly believe that literature will be something that we will leave behind after our deaths," he said.
Calling mythology one of the most political of genres in cinema, Chabria said religion and politics have been intertwined since a long time. "In fact, the way religion has been used on television is something that the Indian polity is working on even today."
Elaborating on the same, Hassan said he hated religion and politics equally and that the combination of the two, along with atheism can be very dangerous and so should be kept separate. "I like using the subversive nature of mythology. Also, there are mythical elements that I try and use in my films like naming the characters in Hey Ram' after certain names in epics. Mythology has affected me quite a bit and as all of you can see, I've been at it with a tenacity," he said.
Hassan says no to politics. When asked if he would like to enter politics, Hassan said he was not interested because all he wanted to do was prove himself as a good actor. "I do not think I can do the sacrifices that being a politician requires," he said. He also stressed on the importance of voting. "If you believe in a democracy and want to see change, please use the constitutional right you have been given. Else, the politicians will misuse it."
Hassan also spoke about the economic slowdown which he said was something that the vertical of entertainment was not really affected by. he added that he was hoping for a better time so that he could continue with his Marudhanayagam'. Commenting on the city, he said Pune for him was the FTII which means films and films are his world.