Entertainment


‘Stories are screen-agnostic’: Kamal Haasan at ‘South Unbound’ event

Chennai, Dec 10 (UNI) Actor Kamal Haasan attended JioHotstar’s South Unbound event in Chennai, where he spotlighted the rising national and global influence of Southern Indian storytelling.
The star-studded gathering marked a milestone for the region’s media and entertainment sector, with JioHotstar announcing a Rs 4,000-crore investment over the next five years to strengthen South India’s creative economy.
The event was graced by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister for Tamil Development, Information and Publicity MP Saminathan, and key JioHotstar executives.
Speaking at the event, Kamal Haasan said that modern narratives are now “screen-agnostic”, traveling with audiences across platforms.
“Stories no longer belong to any screen; they belong to people. The audience has become the platform,” he noted.
Celebrating the rising global appeal of southern cinema, he cited hits such as Kantara, Drishyam, Baahubali, Pushpa, Vikram, and Amaran, calling authenticity a currency “that can never be demonetised.”
Drawing parallels with global phenomena like Squid Game, he said southern Indian languages collectively reach over 275 million people, giving the region immense global potential.
According to the press note, Haasan praised JioHotstar’s initiative as a transformative force for Tamil Nadu, enabling creators to reach audiences nationwide.
“Regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international,” he said, adding that stories rooted in Madurai, Malappuram, Mandya, or Machilipatnam are no longer “regional” but national cultural events.
He emphasized that a thriving creative economy depends on strong networks of creators, technicians, platforms, and supportive policy frameworks.
The South Unbound Letter of Intent signed between the Tamil Nadu government and JioHotstar represents a Rs 12,000-crore commitment to advancing southern storytelling, including Rs 4,000 crore dedicated specifically to Tamil Nadu over five years.
Kamal Haasan described the current M and E landscape as one driven by young audiences, rapid digital growth, regional influence on national tastes, and rising global interest in Indian narratives.
“There has never been a better time to be a storyteller,” he urged, calling on the industry to seize the opportunity.
On the work front, Kamal Haasan was last seen in ‘Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life.’
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