Actor and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan released a video message on Friday calling for coordinated national action in response to the economic fallout from the ongoing Iran war. In the nearly four-minute address, he warned that rising oil prices and disrupted sea trade routes were already driving up costs for fuel, fertilisers, and everyday energy needs.

Kamal noted that over 60 countries have implemented energy-saving measures in response to the global crisis and drew parallels with India's own history of collective sacrifice, citing citizens donating gold during the Sino-Indian War and PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's call to skip meals during the 1965 food shortage. "Today, India does not need such sacrifice. Surely, we must do this for a country when our parents did much more," he said.

Describing himself as a centrist, Kamal acknowledged PM Modi's decade-long push in solar, wind, coal gasification, and nuclear energy as important steps toward reducing dependence on foreign oil. However, he stressed that the burden must not fall on citizens alone. He urged the Prime Minister to convene a national summit of all Chief Ministers, called for a reduction in state VAT on petrol and diesel, and appealed for lower fares on trains, metros, and buses to reduce dependence on private vehicles.

"Every unit of energy saved today strengthens India tomorrow. Geopolitics will affect pedestrians on the street as much as the high-flying rich. But if we face this crisis together, India will and can emerge stronger," he concluded.