Kamal Haasan to tour Tamil Nadu before launching party, unveils app

CHENNAI: Actor Kamal Haasan said he would travel through Tamil Nadu and launch a political party soon as he unveiled a mobile app on Tuesday, his 63rd birthday.

Haasan presented the beta version of whistle-blower app Maiam Whistle during a well-attended meeting at the GRT Convention Centre. The actor said he chose the name Maiam (Tamil for centre) to emphasise he was neither left nor right of centre.

“Most of the populace would want to be there,” Haasan said. The official launch of the app will be in January, he said but did not commit to a date for launching his party.

Asked about the name of his party, Haasan joked, “Please don’t ask the name of the child when it is not born yet. That will be decided after knowing if the kid is a boy or a girl.” He said he would travel and talk to people to understand issues better.

Haasan also launched two hashtags, #KH and #theditheerpomvaa (search and solve). An active commentator on social issues, Haasan has often taken to Twitter to express opinions on problems ranging from dengue to the agricultural crisis.

Fellow superstar Rajinikanth has remained elusive and noncommittal about his entry into politics. But Haasan has taken the position that he has always been a politician “since he was a regular voter”.

In July, a month after Bigg Boss Tamil (of which Haasan is the host) started creating controversies, he met the press to clear the air. During the press conference, he accused the Tamil Nadu government of being corrupt. Since then he has been engaged in a war of words with D Jayakumar and RB Udhayakumar, both senior ministers in the state.

On October 28, Haasan visited Ennore creek after tweeting about encroachments on the Kosathalaiyar river and the risk of flooding it posed for about 10 lakh people in north Chennai.