Seeking to quell the controversy created by the absence of superstar Kamal Haasan's films at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Ambika Soni, the information and
broadcasting minister has announced that a retrospective of his works would be held in Delhi next year.
The minister stated that the actor, who completed 50-years in the film industry, deserved more than a package of three films at the IFFI, which is scheduled to begin in Goa this month.
Admitting that fans of the Tamil film icon will be "disappointed" with the absence of his works in the festival, she said, "Can the works of Kamal Haasan be shown just in three films? A national retrospective of the actor will be held in Delhi next year."
The controversy had begun with the emergence of reports which said that the Tamil actor was deliberately left out of the 'Retrospective' section which honours veterans, despite completing a five decade long stint in cinema.
Actors Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore were scheduled to be honoured at IFFI along with Haasan for completing 50 years in Indian cinema with screenings of their three selected films each.
Following reports that he had demanded for seven of his films to be shown in the section and was therefore excluded, Haasan clarified that it was his friends in Delhi who had insisted on more films being screened instead of three.