Kollywood actor Madhavan who did not attend the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards at Srilanka said that he did not wish to do anything that would hurt the sentiments of the tamil people. “There were a lot of messages on social networking sites asking me to stay away from IIFA this year. wouldn't like to get into the politics of it. I was not present at the IIFA only to respect the sentiments of Tamils. I would do nothing to hurt them.”, said Madhavan. However Madhavan clarifies that he wished to stay away from the politics of the issue. Though he donned the lead role in Kannathil Muthamittal, he said that it was out of his career commitment and not because he was interested in the political side of the issue.