Kamal Haasan meets PM Modi, urges for antiquity for Keeladi village

Actor Kamal Haasan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and requested him to "expedite the recognition of Keeladi's antiquity". The Tamil Superstar, who has recently been inducted into the Rajya Sabha, took to X to share a few snapshots of his meeting with PM Modi in Delhi. This was the actor’s first meeting with PM Modi after being sworn in as a member of the Rajya Sabha earlier in July.

Kamal Haasan gifts PM Modi a memento

In the photos, Kamal was seen interacting with PM Modi. He also gave him a memento themed around Keeladi village. The village is situated 12km from Madurai, set on the banks of the Vaigai River. The area is considered an ancient site dating back to the Sangam era.

Sharing the photos, Kamal wrote, "Today, I had the honour of meeting the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji. As a representative of the people of Tamil Nadu and as an artist, I placed before him a few requests, foremost among them was the call to expedite the recognition of Keeladi's antiquity."

"I urged the Prime Minister to extend his support to the Tamil people in showcasing to the world the grandeur of Tamil civilisation and the timeless glory of the Tamil language," he added. The Centre and DMK-led Tamil Nadu government have been at loggerheads over the Keezhadi, also spelt Keeladi, findings.

Kamal Haasan takes oath in Rajya Sabha

Last month, Kamal took the oath in Tamil as an MP in the Upper House of Parliament, receiving a resounding applause from fellow MPs. This is his first stint at the Rajya Sabha. He was nominated with the support of the ruling DMK-led alliance, which had promised him a Rajya Sabha seat in return for MNM's support during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Kamal's recent film

Kamal was last seen in Thug Life, which hit the theatres in June this year. The film marked Kamal’s collaboration with Mani Ratnam, after three decades. The film had released in Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. The film also starred Silambarasan TR, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Nassar, Mahesh Manjrekar and Ali Fazal among others. Thug Life got mostly negative reviews from critics. WION’s Shomini Sen wrote, “Thug Life seems to be more of a massy drama which doesn’t particularly have any distinct stamp of Ratnam. Thug Life unfortunately falls into the usual trappings of a masala potboiler and never elevates itself to be something marvelous. It's a cinematic version of Mirzapur, where everyone is eyeing the hot seat and thus, trying to outdo the other person. And because most of us have watched the web series, Thug Life doesn't offer us anything new.”