Kamal Haasan under fire for comments on Saint Thyagaraja

Tamil film icon Kamal Haasan is under attack from the Carnatic musicians for his controversial comments on Saint Sri Thyagaraja, considered one of the doyens of the Carnatic music world.

During an interaction with popular Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi on May 4 via Instagram, Kamal Haasan said Thyagaraja was “begging in praise of Lord Rama” which has irked many Carnatic singers.

Well-known vocalist Palghat Ramprasad has launched an online petition seeking an apology from Kamal Haasan for his comments on Saint Thyagaraja. The petition launched on Change.Org has so far received 13,000 signatures and is growing.

Also, a few popular Carnatic singers have also come out openly against Kamal Haasan for his statement on the doyen of one of the popular music forms in the country.

“We strongly condemn your reference to him (Thyagaraja) ‘begging in praise of Lord Rama’. Every Carnatic musician, regardless of how they exhibit their affiliation to the outside world, deep within themselves know that they owe every bit of their basic livelihood and professional success, to Sri Thyagaraja’s contribution to Carnatic music,” the petition read.

The specific reference to Thyagaraja and Lord Rama, also suggests the negatively pointed target “on a specific religion/caste, which is indeed an insult to the followers of this faith,” Ramprasad said in his petition.

“Also, the Unchvrithi he did was owing to his Bhakthi, and not agendas outside of that,” Ramprasad said and pointed out that artists from the Carnatic music fraternity strongly object to the pointed reference of a holy saint.

“We demand an apology for your malignant and despicable remarks against him carried out intentionally or otherwise,” he said.

Popular Carnatic singer, Mahathi also took to Facebook to condemn Kamal Hassan’s statement. “I am an ardent fan of Shri Kamal Hassan’s artistic works, but his recent comment definitely irks. It is so important that an artist of his stature ensures that he chooses the right words and presents his points clearly,” she said.

Mahathi also said none should hurt the feelings of others and try to change them to suit their own thoughts and ideologies. “Thus said, nothing/none can belittle the greatest Composer Saint Thyagaraja and his works,” she wrote.

Saint Thyagaraja was born on May 4, 1767, in Tiruvarur in the then Thanjavur district. He is considered the doyen of the Carnatic music for his immense contributions to the music form. An annual music festival is held in Thiruvaiyaru, the town where Thyagaraja attained samadhi, in Thanjavur district every year in the month of January.