Fear of Failure Holds Back Progress, Warns Kamal Haasan

Fast Summary

• Kamal Haasan, actor and Rajya Sabha MP, attended the Crystal Connexions Alumni Meet 2025 at VIT Chennai on Friday.
• In his address, Mr. Haasan emphasized India’s negative perception of failure, stating it hinders growth. He noted that fear kills more dreams than poverty, drawing examples from his own life and failures in films and public speaking.
• He highlighted differences between attitudes toward failure in India versus Silicon Valley, where it is indeed viewed as a learning experience rather than shame.
• G.V.Selvam (Vice President of VIT) shared statistics about VIT Chennai’s expansion from 622 students to 23,000 over the years.
• G. Viswanathan (founder and Chancellor of VIT) requested GST withdrawal for educational institutions to lower fees and discussed inadequate spending on education in India.
• alumni were honored with special awards under five categories: Academic & Research (Mahajan Sagar Bhaskar),Entrepreneurship (Ram Kumar R.S), Corporate Career (Ashwani Jha), Young Achiever (Vijai.M), and Social Development (Kalvina Rajendran).

Indian Opinion Analysis

Mr. Haasan’s speech underscores an crucial cultural challenge facing India-overcoming societal views toward failure to foster innovation and personal growth. His comparison with Silicon Valley highlights how embracing failure could help unlock India’s creative potential across industries like startups or education.

The discussion about GST removal for educational institutions introduces an economic outlook-reducing costs could make higher education accessible for more students but calls for balancing fiscal realities alongside policy changes.

VIT’s dramatic growth reflects positive developments in the higher education sector but also raises broader questions about equitable access if costs remain high without intervention.

Efforts recognizing alumni achievements signify success stories within Indian academia and corporate spheres that can serve as encouragement amid structural challenges described by speakers.

Read more: Published – August 16, 2025