Actor Kamal Haasan has deferred the filing of his nomination for a Rajya Sabha seat, which was supposed to happen today. Sources say the actor has been advised to postpone the filing until after the release of his upcoming film, Thug Life. The delay, according to sources, has been advised in the wake of the backlash the actor faced for his controversial comment regarding Kannada’s origins.

Haasan, as part of an electoral pact between Tamil Nadu’s ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) during the 2024 Lok Sabha general election, was promised a Rajya Sabha seat in exchange for MNM’s support to the DMK-led alliance.

The DMK officially announced Haasan as one of its three candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats last Wednesday, May 28, paving the way for Kamal Haasan’s entry into Parliament.

Six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu are falling vacant soon, and elections to fill them are scheduled for June 19.

Haasan created a political controversy after he said, “Kannada is born out of Tamil” at a recent promotional event for Thug Life. The comment did not go down well with pro-Kannada groups, who demanded that he apologise and called for a state-wide boycott of his film.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, in agreement with the protesters, decided to halt the release and screening of the film. Kamal Haasan, who had moved the Karnataka High Court seeking protection for the release and screening, decided during the hearing not to release the film in Karnataka.

The actor also steadfastly refused to apologise, saying he had done nothing wrong and that his comment was taken out of context.

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