If It is cruel to animals, then ban biriyani too, he says.

Actor Kamal Haasan has voiced his support for jallikattu, saying it was a tradition that needed to be held.

“For thousands of years it has been known as a sport where we embrace the bull. It is not to be confused with what happens in Spain,” he said on the sidelines of the India Today Conclave where he was part of a session.

Animal rights activists favoured a ban on jallikattu on the ground that it was cruel to animals. If that was the case, even biriyani should be banned, he said.

“I am one of the few Kollywood actors who has been a part of jallikattu. It does not involve winning or harming the bull but more about who can stay with the bull for the longest on the ground,” he said, adding that as a Tamilian, he was proud of the tradition.

Some other Kollywood celebrities too have been voicing their support for jallikattu.

Music director and actor G.V. Prakash had announced a single “Kombu vechcha singamda” album to save jallikattu. He said on Twitter that the revenue generated from the song would be given to struggling farmers and their families in the State.

A pro-jallikattu rally was held in the city on Sunday on the Marina Beach.