'Listening instead of lecturing': Kamal Haasan reveals why he celebrates Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra

Days after veteran actor Kamal Haasan joined Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra, he revealed the decision to join the Rahul-Gandhi led march was because he felt it was his "duty as an Indian" to voice his anguish.

"I felt it's my duty as an Indian to voice my anguish and my apprehensions at what's happening today," the Makkal Needhi Maiam chief said in conversation with Rahul Gandhi.

"This 2,800 km is nothing... you have walked through sweat, tears and blood literally," Haasan said. "

"The reason why I want to celebrate your walk is you are reaching out to the people and lending the ear instead of standing on a podium and lecturing. You are doing exactly what Gandhi did -- to understand the nation before fighting for it," he added.

The 68-year-old actor-politician also spoke about how people tend to forget history and remember only the recent happenings. "We forget history and we are only agitated by the topical or recent happenings. I talk a lot about Mahatma Gandhi now. However, it was not there right from the beginning. My father was a Congressman but my environment made me a bit of critic of Gandhi when I was in my teens," he said.

"I discovered Gandhi on my own at the age of around 24-25. That's why I made Hey Ram. That was my way of saying 'sorry' to Bapu," Haasan highlighted.

Kamal Haasan, in his conversation with Gandhi, also said, that "the worst form of criticism is assassination". Talking about his views on violence and hatred being spread in the country, he said it is "synthetic" and "manufactured."

Kamal Haasan had joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the national capital and had earlier said that he is "here as an Indian".

"Many people ask me why I'm here. I'm here as an Indian," the actor said, as quoted by ANI.

"My father was a Congressman. I had various ideologies and started my own political party but when it comes to the country, all political party lines have to blur. I blurred that line and came here," he added.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra started on September 7 and has garnered support from many renowned names like former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt, actor Swara Bhasker, among others.

Also Read: 'Concerned citizen': Raghuram Rajan explains why he joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra