National-Award winning actor Prakash Raj, who had earlier voiced his disagreement with the "chilling silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cold blooded murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh and supported fellow actor Kamal Haasan over his alleged remarks on Hindu terrorism, today refuted claims of joining politics, saying "film actors becoming leaders is a disaster for my country."
This statement comes amid speculation over Kamal Haasan's entry into politics. But Raj categorically denied following the same path.
"I'm not joining any political party. I don't like actors joining politics because they are actors & have fans. They should always stay aware about their responsibility towards them," he said on Sunday.
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While speaking in Bengaluru, the veteran actor also said that cinema halls are not the place to show one's patriotism.
"I don't think someone should stand in cinema hall and show his or her patriotism, he said."
Earlier, actor Vidya Balan too had voiced her opinion on the controversy over playing the national anthem in theatres, saying patriotism cannot be forced.
"I don't think the national anthem should be played before the films. You are not in school where you start the day with the national anthem," said Balan, while speaking at an event.
"So I'm personally of the opinion that the national anthem should not be played. You cannot force patriotism," she said.
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Prakash Raj had been in the eye of the storm after he had questioned the PM's silence on his close friend Gauri Lankesh's death.
While questioning Modi's silence, Raj said that he felt like "returning" his awards to "such actors who are acting as though nothing has happened" but later insisted that he was "not such a fool to give back the national awards."
"My question is, as the prime minister of this country, if such people (trolls) are being followed by the prime minister and the prime minister is not taking a stand on them or not commenting on them, as a citizen of this country, I am disturbed, hurt. I am afraid of the silence of my prime minister." he had said.
(Inputs from agencies)
