Tamil actor Kamal Haasan holds forth on Jallikattu.


In a press conference in Chennai today, the actor said he wants "a reasonable explanation" for the alleged police violence against peaceful pro-Jallikattu protesters in Chennai yesterday.


The actor, who doesn't support the ban on jallikattu, also said the protests in Tamil Nadu are a culmination of Tamilians wanting a bill to allow the bull-taming sport for the last 20 years. "This ban is intruding on Tamil culture," he said.


The actor was only half joking when he said he hoped "the cops in the video weren't real". He was referring to photographs and videos of police personnel torching auto rickshaws on the streets."I hope there is an explanation on the clips of cops committing arson. No law or legal system is infallible," Haasan said, adding that he is against bans of any kind as a matter of principle.


The protests in Tamil Nadu, he said, "felt right."