Hyderabad: Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday met Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy to discuss the Cauvery water distribution issue and found himself at the receiving end of much criticism for not bringing up the matter of Rajinikanth’s film not being released in the state.

Distributors have refused to release Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Kaala’ in Karnataka theatres in order to condemn his comments over the Cauvery water sharing issue. Rajinkanth had said that Karnataka should release Tamil Nadu’s share of water to the state, drawing criticism from many in Karnataka, including Kumaraswamy.

Kamal Haasan met Kumaraswamy and tweeted, “Your warm hospitality and openness in discussing the Cauvery issue & various other issues concerning our two states is fully reciprocated sir. I assure you I will do my best in being a trustworthy bridge between Karnataka & Tamil Nadu. Thank you for a heartwarming meeting.”

Speaking to News18, actor Prakash Raj hit back at Haasan and said, “He has his own reasons to not raise the issue but he should also realise that when his film Vishwaroopam was banned, he wanted the entire world to stand by him. But I feel it is my responsibility and we cannot let this happen to any film.”

Raj further added, “Whoever is in power, be it the Congress, BJP or JD(S), it is their responsibility to ensure safety and freedom of expression. You can’t sit back and allow the fringe who are not even elected members to do as they please. Are they representing the people? If I don’t like a film, or want to lodge my protest, I will not watch it. But you can’t stop those who want to watch.”

“Everyone has a right to protest. But there is always a way to do that. A few fringe elements want a ban on the film. But banning a film is illegal and it’s not an answer. What message are we trying to instill with this? Tamilians will hate the Kannadiga and vice-versa. Be it in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar or Gujarat, we cannot allow the fringe to take law into their hands. We as citizens have to put a stop to it.”

Acting on the Supreme Court's direction, the Centre finally constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA) to address the long-standing dispute over sharing of river water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry and issued a gazette notification.