Kamal Haasan tells Rahul Gandhi ‘we let happen’ what the Gandhi family went through

After joining Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi last week for Bharat Jodo Yatra, Kamal Haasan also sat down in conversation with the politician. The duo talked about the world, politics, and of course, cinema. Kamal spoke to Rahul about his 2000 film Hey Ram which depicts the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The film was released in Tamil and Hindi.

Afterwards, the pair engaged each other in conversation where Kamal discussed what motivated him to produce, direct and act in Hey Ram. The bilingual, which also stars Shah Rukh Khan, Hema Malini, Rani Mukerji, Girish Karnad and Naseeruddin Shah, tells an alternate version leading up to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Kamal’s character also wants to kill the leader but once he gets know him, he realises he is wrong and backs out. However, another man goes ahead and kills him.

In the video uploaded on Rahul’s YouTube channel, Kamal replied that it was he who came up with the idea of the film. He said, “It was my way of saying sorry to my Bapu. I have to take the onus of the crimes, including what happened in your family. We let it happen.” He seemed to be talking about the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, who were the Prime Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother and father. He also explained that he started out as a critic of Gandhi ji and later became a fan.

Hey Ram won three National Awards for best supporting actor for Atul Kulkarni, costume design and special effects. It was also India’s submission to the Oscars in 2001.

The 68-year-old actor, who is also president of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party, had walked alongside Rahul at the peace march. Later, at a speech at the Red Fort, Kamal had said, “Many people asked me why I’m here. I’m here as an Indian. My father was a Congressman. I have had various ideologies and started my own political party but when it comes to the country, all party lines have to blur. I blurred that line and came here.”

Last month, other film and television personalities have also walked besides the politician in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Actors Swara Bhasker, Rashami Desai, Akanksha Puri, Amol Palekar and his wife Sandhya Gokhale, along with Pooja Bhatt and Riya Sen also took part in the walk.