For the past few days, Tamil actors have been criticized by many online for not glorifying the Indian military's Operation Sindoor as much as Telugu and Hindi actors have. Many from the Hindi belt believe that Telugu actors are ideologically neutral, while Tamil stars are beholden to the Dravidian ideology, which allegedly doesn't feel strongly about teaching Pakistan a stern lesson for its jihadist misadventures.
Kamal Haasan's decision to cancel the audio launch event of his movie, Thug Life, came as a surprise in this context. The actor, announcing the rescheduling of the event, said that art comes only after India. His "India first, art next" sentiment, in a way, paints the Kollywood film industry itself in a positive light. Kamal is a senior actor who commands a lot of respect. So, a legendary actor like him cancelling the event as a symbolic gesture reflects well on the Tamil film industry.
Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam and co-starring Simbu, Trisha Krishnan and Ashok Selvan, has music by AR Rahman.
