I respect Mohanlal as an actor: Tharoor

Thiruvananthapuram : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that he respects superstar Mohanlal for his acting and he will comment at an appropriate time about the speculation that the actor will contest the Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate.

Tharoor said this while responding to a question when taking part in a programme titled "India for Kerala" organised by the Times Network here.

The speculation flared up after media reports said that Mohanlal had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

"I respect Mohanlal as an actor. I like what he is doing... and he is doing it quite well. His lives in my constituency and I have gone there also. With regards to politics and election, I will react at the appropriate time," said Tharoor, the Congress Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram.

State BJP President P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said he will be extremely glad if Mohanlal agrees to become the party candidate.

However, a source close to the actor told IANS that Mohanlal "has practically very little idea about politics and it was only very recently he was able to differentiate between the two Communist parties -- CPI-M and the CPI -- here".

"So the question of his contesting the election cannot be even considered as a remote possibility," the source said.

Mohanlal is currently shooting for his latest film "Lucifer" in the state capital.