Left leaders are my heroes; I am not saffron: Kamal Haasan

News Network

September 1, 2017

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 1: Days after asking his fans to be ready to march to Fort St George, where the TN Assembly stands, Kamal Haasan met Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Speaking to reporters after meeting the veteran communist leader, the actor said "Left leaders are my heroes, I am certainly not saffron.''

"My colour is obviously seen over the forty years I have been working in cinema. It is definitely not saffron,'' Kamal Haasan said about his political affiliations.

Both Kamal and Pinarayi Vijayan said politics was indeed part of their talk. However, both refused to throw more light into what transpired in the meeting.

Pinarayi Vijayan and wife Kamala received Kamal and the actor had a traditional Onam feast with the CM.

"It was a friendly visit. But, politics was part of our talk. We spoke about south Indian politics and happenings in Tamil Nadu," Pinarayi Vijayan said after the meeting. He said Kamal had been a friend for long but was seeing him for the first time after becoming the CM.

After the visit, Kamal Hassan said he wanted to come and meet Pinarayi Vijayan last year itself but couldn't because of an accident. "This is a learning experience for me", he said. To queries from reporters, Kamal said colour of his politics was definitely not saffron. When quizzed whether he would work with the left movement, he answered, "Wait patiently".

He visited Pinarayi Vijayan for interviewing him for the Onam special show of CPM- controlled Kairali TV. A year ago, Pinarayi Vijayan was among the first ones to congratulate Kamal Hassan on receipt of the prestigious Chevalier Award.

The actor has been taking on Tamil Nadu state ministers and even engaging them with political attacks over corruption and NEET of late. The actor recently took on the TN CM as well and wondered why no one has sought the resignation of the chief minister.

On how much time he can devote to politics, the actor said that "It's not about joining politics. But, it is about how much time I can devote.''

The actor further said that the issues were more important than the government and people were more important than the government.

Speaking about his meeting with the Kerala CM, the actor said that he has been talking to Kerala CM about it (joining politics) and taking advice from him. He further said that he would be meeting more politicians. "I'll meet more politicians before I take a call on joining politicis,'' the actor added.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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