Don’t test my patriotism at random places: Kamal Haasan on national anthem in movie halls

Actor Kamal Haasan on Tuesday weighed in on the debate around the mandatory playing of national anthem in cinema halls, saying that his patriotism shouldn’t be tested at random places.

Haasan’s remarks on the touchy issue came two days after the Supreme Court pulled up Centre for not framing rules mandating that national anthem had to be played before a movie screening and cinema goers had to stand up while it is played.

The award-winning south Indian actor drew a comparison with Singapore, tweeting out that the island state played its anthem every midnight.

He followed up with another tweet which noted that Singapore was a “benevolent dictatorship.”

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which had India’s Chief Justice Dipak Misra on it, had on Monday hinted that it could go back on its November 2016 order which had made it compulsory for people to stand up during the playing of national anthem in cinema halls.

CJI Dipak Misra observed that people were afraid of being called anti-national if they opposed the apex court’s November order.

“People go to cinema halls for undiluted entertainment and they definitely need entertainment, not moral policing,” Justice Misra reportedly said.