I am trained to embrace the bull: Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan has always been vehemently vocal on issues that he believes in. But when he spoke in favour of the banned jallikattu sport in Tamil Nadu — which animal activists have declared inhuman — a lot of eyebrows shot up in dismay and disgust.

The Thoongaavanam actor remains steadfast in his belief that jallikattu has a place in the Tamilian socio-cultural context.

Argues Kamal, “It is a sport that is older than Christ and Buddha. It is not a matador versus bull kind of unfair and cruel match. The original Tamil name for the sport is Eru Thazhuvudal, meaning ‘embracing the bull’. Using any weapons against the bull is considered foul and cowardly.”

But hasn’t the traditional definition of this sport, over time, been barbaric and inhuman? After all public hangings and lynching were considered entertainment in certain ancient cultures? — “Yes, over a period of time, with no proper monitoring of the sport, certain excesses might have come into practice. If those violent practises are eschewed and older traditions are brought into the sport, it might cease to concern animal lovers,” he says.

The difference, according to Ulaganayagan, between other combat sports and jallikattu, lies in the spirit of the ritual. “The players, who run with the bull, love the animals too. Just because you do not see animals playing traditional roles, doesn’t mean they are being tortured. In Rajasthan, camels are used as beasts of burden sometimes pulling nearly a one-ton load. In some places in India, camels are slaughtered for meat.”

Kamal also questions the connection between animal rights and vegetarianism. “Being vegetarian does not constitute ahimsa. Vegetarians eat plants. Jagdish Chandra Bose’s discovery and research has proven without doubt that plants sleep at night and wake up during the day like us. They discern pain and fear like — just as we do. And because they don’t scream and squeal in a way we understand does not exclude them from pain or cruelty,” Kamal says.

Delving further on the subject of cruelty to animals, Kamal points out that lacto-consumption is also a form of violence to animal rights. “Milk is meant for calves. Stealing their quota and milking the cow on an everyday basis is cruel as well. I don’t drink milk at all. But I am probably the only or maybe one of the few actors who has been trained to embrace the bull,” he shares.

The actor proudly declares himself a bull lover —“I personally owned three bulls for a few years. I even filmed jallikattu in my film Virumandi! My bulls were the chief guests on stage when we released the music album of the film. They lived and died without pain. Like me, they too acted in films, and they did not end up on anybody’s plate! Even my dogs roam free in my house and are not chained.”

In principle, Kamal Haasan is against all bans. A few years ago, when the central government contemplated banning porn, Kamal has argued, “Then we should destroy Khajuraho and ban the Bundi paintings, deface some of our temple sculptures and, while we are at it, we can ban the Kamasutra and also some verses by saint Aandal of Srivilliputhur. Then finally we can decide what to do with phallic worshipping and Bhagvati Pooja!”