Kamal Haasan, Bigg Boss Tamil face complaint over alleged defamatory reference to Jayalalithaa as 'dictator'

Veteran actor Kamal Haasan has found himself amid a controversy yet again, after a complaint was filed against him for a recent episode of the television show he hosts, Bigg Boss Tamil.

A complaint has been filed against the actor and the TV show in Chennai, on the grounds that former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the late J Jayalalithaa was portrayed as a ‘dictator’ in a recent Bigg Boss Tamil episode.

The complaint has been filed with the Chennai Police commissioner by a lawyer, Louisal Ramesh.

The episode in question featured a ‘dictatorship’ task, where one of the contestants — Aishwarya Dutta — was decreed the dictator of the house and invested with the power to make rules. However, Dutta lost her temper with her fellow contestants and threw garbage over one of the housemates for refusing to follow her dictum. An online row ensued where viewers chastised Dutta for taking things too far, and criticised the showrunners for broadcasting the footage.

Referring to the ruckus in his segment later, Kamal Haasan reportedly cautioned Dutta (and other contestants) from being dictatorial. He allegedly also said, “You know what happened to the dictators that ruled the state” — which the complaint against him claims was a reference to J Jayalalithaa.

Bigg Boss Tamil’s previous season — its first — had also found itself in hot water after a fringe group, the Hindu Makkal Katchi, sought a ban on it for ’tarnishing Tamil culture’.

Haasan launched his political party Makkal Needhi Maiam (meaning People’s Centre for Justice) in February this year. He also has a major release — Vishwaroopam 2 — on the anvil.