‘Independent cinema is as free as India,’ veteran actor Kamal Haasan emphasised on Friday, while addressing the issue of how indie films are unable to compete with commercial films while finding space in theatres. The actor made the statement on the sidelines of this year’s edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which began in Goa on Thursday.

Kamal Haasan on independent cinema in India

The superstar walked the red carpet of IFFI 2025, ahead of the screening of his film Amaran, which he produced through his banner Raaj Kamal Films International. “Independent cinema is very independent, as free as India… don’t bring it into a confining space of a very commercialised cinema,” the 71-year-old told PTI on the occasion.

Kamal Haasan is one of the most successful and acclaimed actors to emerge from Tamil cinema. He often blurred the lines between experimental and mainstream cinema, working in off-beat films like Apoorva Raagangal, Nayakan, Thevar Magan, and Sadma, all of which found success at the box office. He added that independent cinema shouldn’t be forced into the same mould as mainstream cinema. Asked about indie films not getting space to be showcased in theatres, Haasan said, “Yes, that’s been my complaint for about 40 years.”

Kamal Haasan brings Amaran to IFFI 2025

On the red carpet, Haasan was accompanied by Amaran lead stars Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi. The film, based on Major Mukund Vardharajan, who was killed in action during a counter-terror operation in Kashmir in 2014, serves as the opening film of the 56th IFFI.

Adapted from a chapter of the book India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes, the movie is directed by Rajkumar Periasamy. Kamal Haasan was most recently seen in Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life. The film marked their first collaboration in almost four decades, but it was a commercial failure.