Chennai, Oct 10 (IANS): Actor Kamal Haasan said that if the music industry was unshackled, it has the potential to grow bigger than cinema in future.

Releasing the Tamil version of "O Penne", an independent album song that has been written, composed, choreographed, and directed by Devi Sri Prasad, which also features him, Kamal Haasan said: "You must understand the significance of Devi Sri Prasad's move to launch an independent album. There have been instances in the past when independent songs were more

popular than film songs."

However, the actor said that after the advent of cinema, which is a versatile medium, it contained all of this within itself. "Therefore, we are now only scoring music that is demanded by producers or distributors for stories that they are looking to make into films for almost a 100 years."

Stating that independent music would facilitate independent thought, Kamal stressed on the need to encourage independent music.

"I have always been concerned about the fact that no space has been provided to facilitate such independent thoughts. Even a great musician like Ilaiyaraaja has been forcibly constrained within this rectangle (referring to films by pointing to the theatre screen).

"If they attempt to break free and break out, people say 'we don't understand. It is beyond us.' Therefore, their growth is denied and they, like a giant speaking to a child, have to stoop to the level of providing only what is required by cinema despite the pain and discomfort it causes them."

"If musicians have to stand tall, these constraints must be removed. When you remove their shackles and let them run free, it is a beautiful sight to behold," the actor said, stressing on the need to provide space for independent music.

"In the US, independent musicians are wealthier than even those in films. They are even more popular. The film industry has contained the music industry, which has such immense potential, within itself," he lamented.

"I believe music has the potential to grow bigger than cinema in future and that is why I sent my daughter Shruti Haasan to learn music in Los Angeles," he said while requesting people to support independent music and the song.