Kamal Haasan

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Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan pictured at a recent film event
Born	Kamal Haasan November 7, 1954 (1954-11-07) (age 53) Paramakudi, India
Children	Shruti Haasan Akshara Haasan

Kamal Haasan (born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, India) is an award-winning Indian film actor and director, considered among the leading method actors of Indian cinema.^[1][2] Hassan is notable for winning several Indian film awards that include the National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards, and has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of films submitted by India in contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to acting and directing, he is a screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer and choreographer. His film production company, Rajkamal International, has produced several of his films.

Kamal Haasan's breakthrough into lead acting came with his role in the 1975 drama, Apoorva Raagangal, in which he played a rebellious youth in love with an older woman. He secured his first Indian National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who tends a child-like amnesiac in 1982's Moondram Pirai. He was particularly noted for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Godfatheresque Nayagan (1987), which was ranked by Time magazine as one of the best films of all-time.^[3]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early career: 1960s – early 1970s 1.2 Classic period: 1970s – 1980s 1.3 The 1990s 1.4 2000s: Hey Ram and onwards 2 Awards 3 Career as a film producer 4 Notable filmography 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career: 1960s – early 1970s

He made his debut as a child artiste aged six in a tamil film named KALATHUR KANNAMA along with the yester year veteran actor Gemini Ganesan and the film was produced by famous AVM Studio.

[edit] Classic period: 1970s – 1980s

Kamal Haasan's breakthrough came in form of the Malayalam film, Kanyakumari, which began his tally of six regional Best Actor Filmfare Awards in four years, including three consecutive Best Tamil Actor Awards. A series of flops led to his next award-winning venture, Apoorva Raagangal, which explored the relationships between people with wide age gaps; the film is also known for introducing the prominent Tamil actor Rajnikanth. In 1976, Haasan appeared in three successful films; the drama Moondru Mudichu with Rajnikanth and Sridevi, the cult film Manmadha Leelai and Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu, which won him his second out of his three consecutive awards.

Following his success in the late 1970s, Haasan was a major star at the turn of the decade. Haasan's association with Sridevi continued in Guru and Varumayin Niram Sigappu, both becoming key successes for the actors. He appeared as a lawyer during a guest appearance in Rajnikanth's blockbuster, Thillu Mullu, for Rajnikanth's several appearances in previous Kamal Haasan films. Haasan's 100th career film appearance came in 1981's Raja Paarvai, which marked his debut in film production.

His portrayal of a blind violinist won him a Filmfare Award as well as plaudits from critics, embarking on a successful box-office run for the film. His next film, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, was his first Hindi blockbuster, coincidentally it was a remake of his previous Telugu language film, Maro Charithra by K. Balachandar. Following a year of starring in commercial films, Haasan won his first of three National Awards for Best Actor with his portrayal of a school teacher who looks after a mentally retarded girl in Balu Mahendra's Moondram Pirai. Till 1985, Haasan began to appear in more Hindi language films, which went relatively unnoticed but his performance in Saagar, won him both the Filmfare Best Actor Award as well as the Best Supporting Actor Award, making him the first actor to win both awards for a single film in the award's history. Saagar portayed him alongisde Rishi Kapoor both of whom were pinning for a woman, but Haasan ultimately loses out. Haasan also appeared in Geraftaar, a film which failed to make an impact upon release, but today is known for featuring three prominent actors in Indian cinema: Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth and Haasan. He featured in Tamil cinema's first sequel Japanil Kalyanaraman, which followed up his previous, Kalyanaraman as well as acting in Uruvangal Maralam co-starring Sivaji Ganesan and Rajnikanth.

In the mid-1980's, Haasan appeared in two legendary Telugu language films, Sagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam with director, Kasinadhuni Viswanath. The latter film was India's representative for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1986. Whilst, the former film portrayed Haasan as a drunkard classical dancer, Swathi Muthyam portrays him as an autistic person attempting to change society. Following more successful film such as Punnagai Mannan, in which he portrays dual roles including a satire of Charlie Chaplin and Vetri Vizha as an amnesiac, Haasan's most worldwide recognized role came in Mani Rathnam's 1987, trendsetter, Nayagan. Nayagan, commonly referred to "The Godfather" of Tamil cinema, portrays the life of an underworld don in Bombay. The story revolves around the life of a real-life underworld don called Varadarajan Mudaliar, whilst sympathetically depicting the struggle of South Indians living in Mumbai. The film helped Kamal Haasan secure a Indian National Award for his performance and Nayagan was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1987 as well as being included in the Time top 100 movies list. In 1988, Haasan appeared in his only silent film to date; appearing in the black comedy, Pushpak, which was dubbed as a "speechless classic" with reviewers stating that "Haasan surpasses himself", delivering an all time best performance. Apoorva Sagodharargal became Haasan's first attempt at playing a triple role. The commercial film portrayed him in a role as a dwarf, making it the first time that an actor had attempted to play such a role. He then attempted dual roles in Indrudu Chandrudu and its Tamil remake, winning the regional Best Actor Award for his performance.

[edit] The 1990s

1991's Michael Madhana Kamarajan, saw Haasan go one step further, acting in four different roles as quadruplets, the film started an ongoing collabaration for comedy films between Haasan and Crazy Mohan, a dialogue writer. Haasan won successive best actor awards for his portrayal of the protoganist in Guna and in Thevar Magan, where he played the son of noted actor, Sivaji Ganesan. The 1990s saw Kamal breaking out of the romantic hero mould to explore some more gritty, unconventional roles. Following a series of unsuccesful projects in the mid-1990s, with experimentals such as Singaravelan, Maharasan and Kalaignan; Haasan began to appear in comedies such as Sathi Leelavathi, based on the English film, She-Devil as well as renewing his collobaration with Kasinadhuni Viswanath in his last Telugu language film till date, Subha Sankalpam. In 1996, Haasan starred in the police cop story, Kuruthipunal, which met with a strong critical reception is recognised by some to have set high benchmarks for other action films in that period. His success in Kuruthipunal, was followed by his third National Film Award for Best Actor in Indian. Playing dual roles of a freedom fighter and his untrustful son, the film also won Haasan regional awards and plaudits for his portrayal in the blockbuster. Haasan's performance was described as "superb" by critics, who also dubbed the "The biggest film ever made on the Indian Screen".

Haasan appeared as a woman in Avvai Shanmughi, which was inspired by the comedy flick, Mrs. Doubtfire, bringing him praise for his portrayal. In 1997, Haasan began his maiden directorial venture, the biopic of Mohammed Yusuf Khan, Marudhanayagam. However the film, which was started by Queen Elizabeth II, failed to complete its schedules with only half an hour and a trailer being recorded during its shoot. The film's ambitious budget forced Haasan to abandon the project at the time; if made, the film would have been been the costliest film ever made in Asia. Haasan soon made his debut as director with a remake of Avvai Shanmughi in Hindi titled Chachi 420, which became a success upon release. Kamal Haasan's direction was praised as "fantastic" and that he "handles every scene with precision" with "the fine tuning it takes to become a wonderful director", whilst his performance was applauded as "nothing less than brilliance".

[edit] 2000s: Hey Ram and onwards

Following a two year hiatus in Indian cinema, Haasan opted against reviving his magnum opus, Marudhanayagam and filmed his second directorial venture, Hey Ram, a period drama told in flashback with a semi-fictional plot centering around India's Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Haasan also donned technical roles as the writer, the lyricist and the choreogrpaher as well as producing the film under his home banner. The bilingual venture, starring himself in the lead role alongside Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji failed to become successful commercially but became critically acclaimed. Haasan was praised for his "technical wizardry" and acting, but critics called the film "hard to categorize" and "too controversial". His following film, the much-hyped Aalavandhan, where he portrayed two distinct roles; of one, he had his head tonsured and gained ten kilograms for also failed to live up to expectations at the box-office.

Following a series of successful comedies in Thenali, Panchathantiram and Pammal K. Sambandam and a couple of guest appearances, Haasan directed his third feature film in Virumaandi. Virumandi, became the first Tamil film to feature different sides of the story, surrounding the controversy of the death penalty. Haasan's directorial work earned reviews that claimed it was "technical excellence in every sphere", however the film only broke even at the box-office, failing to capitalize on its publicity. Haasan also appeared in Anbe Sivam alongside close friend, Madhavan, in a film he was claimed to have ghost-directed. Priyadarshan, who started the film departed allowing commercial director Sundar C make a film unknown to his usual genre; furthermore the film also preached views of atheism, which Haasan is renowned for following. Anbe Sivam told the story of Nallasivam, enacted by Haasan as an idealist, social activist and communist, whose past is poignant and present moving. Kamal Haasan's performance was highly lauded by critics with The Hindu stating that Haasan "has once again done Tamil cinema proud", however in contrast, the film failed to become a success, with Haasan later lashing out at award judges, claiming he deserved credit for his script writing and acting.

Haasan appeared in the remake film, Vasool Raja alongside Sneha, which triumphed at the box-office, whilst his following film, Mumbai Express, which he had written for flopped at the box-office, as it opened with the record-breaking Rajnikanth starrer, Chandramukhi. In 2006, Haasan's long delayed project, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu became a blockbuster at the box office. Gautham Menon's Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu was Haasan's first cop film in a decade since Kuruthipunal, earning his portrayal as the New York detective rave reviews. The forthcoming production, Dasavatharam ^[4] is the longest film taken for Kamal Haasan to complete. Pairing opposite Asin Thottumkal, Haasan reprises ten roles in the film, a couple of which are claimed to have taken nearly four hours to apply the correct make-up on. The film, which Haasan had to go to court to sort out story legalities, is set for release in April 2008 and is set to become the most expensive Indian film to date, passing the mark of Sivaji: The Boss, which Dasavatharam was initially to release against simultaneously.

Following the completion of Dasavatharam, Haasan is set to direct his fourth directorial venture under the production of Walt Disney Pictures, who by backing Haasan, make their debut in Indian cinema.The film tentiatively titled Marmayogi, is believed to be set in the 7th century and feature several leading stars in the lead roles alongside Haasan. The film was announced with a higher budget than Dasavatharam and the upcoming science-fiction Rajnikanth starrer, Robot, which Marmayogi has been dubbed to compete against. Haasan has still expressed desire in completing his magnum opus, Marudhanayagam if producers will to help him out, however the film if released will be spanned at a duration of over nearly fifteen years, failing to maintain consistency in technology.

[edit] Awards

Kamal is the only actor to receive four National Film Awards in India. He won his National awards for the films Nayagan, Moondram Pirai and Indian.^{[citation needed]} He also won the national award for Best Child Actor for his performance in Kalathur Kannamma.^{[citation needed]} He has also received the best actor award at the Asian Film festivals held in 1983 and 1985 for Saagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam respectively.^[5] Seven of his movies have been sent as India's official entry to the Oscars. Kamal has won the Filmfare awards 18 times.^{[citation needed]}

He was awarded the fourth highest recognition given to Indian civilians - the Padmashri in 1990. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Sathyabama University, Chennai in 2005.^[2]

Kamal was also conferred with a unique honour this year(2007) as "Living Legend" in the film business by FICCI,India.^[3]

The all awards presented to him were for his artistic talent. He got the first Abraham Kovoor National Award for his Humanist Activities and Secular Life.^{[citation needed]}

Kamal Hassan also was conferred the Nandi Award 20 times in his lifetime.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Career as a film producer

Kamal started his foray into film production with 'Raaja Paarvai' in 1981. The film was a commercial failure, though critically well received. A more recent production was the film Virumaandi in 2004. His privately held production house Raj Kamal Films produced several classics like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Thevar Magan, Kuruthipunal etc. His more recent production ventures include the films Virumaandi and Mumbai Xpress.^{[citation needed]}

His magnum opus, Marudha Naayagam' is delayed due to many reasons.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, he launched a new business unit called Raj Kamal Audio in a drive to corporatise all his film commitments. In 2006, he purchased prime real estate for a state-of-the-art multiplex cinema.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notable filmography

Further information: Kamal Haasan filmography

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language	Notes
1960	Kalathur Kannamma		Tamil	Winner: National Film Award for Best Child Artist
1975	Apoorva Raagangal	Prasanna	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1977	16 Vayathinile	Chappani	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1982	Moondram Pirai	Srinivasan	Tamil	Winner: National Film Award for Best Actor
1983	Sagara Sangamam	Balakrishna	Telugu	Winner: Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award
1987	Nayagan	Velu Nayakkar	Tamil	Winner: National Film Award for Best Actor
1988	Pushpak	Pushpak	Silent	Winner: Filmfare Best Kannada Actor Award
1989	Apoorva Sagodharargal	Sedhupathy/Raja/Appu	Tamil	Portrayed triple roles
1991	Michael Madhana Kamarajan	Michael/Madhan/Kameshwaran/Rajan	Tamil	Portrayed four roles Scripted by Kamal Haasan Produced by Kamal Haasan
1992	Thevar Magan	Shakthivelu Thevar	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award Produced by Kamal Haasan Scripted by Kamal Haasan
1996	Indian	Senapathy Bose/Chandra Bose	Tamil	Portrayed a dual role Winner: National Film Award for Best Actor Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1998	Chachi 420	Jaiprakash Paswan/Lakshmi Godbhole	Hindi	Portrayed a dual role Produced by Kamal Haasan Scripted by Kamal Haasan Directed by Kamal Haasan
2000	Hey Ram	Saket Ram	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award Simultaneously made into Hindi as Hey Ram Produced by Kamal Haasan Scripted by Kamal Haasan Directed by Kamal Haasan
2001	Aalavandhan	Vijay Kumar/Nandhu Kumar	Tamil	Portrayed a dual role
2003	Anbe Sivam	Nalla Sivam	Tamil	Scripted by Kamal Haasan
2004	Virumaandi	Virumaandi	Tamil	Produced by Kamal Haasan Scripted by Kamal Haasan Directed by Kamal Haasan
2008	Dasavatharam		Tamil	To Be Released on April 10, 2008 Portrays 10 different roles
2009	Marmayogi		Tamil	Pre-Production

[edit] External links

• Kamal Haasan at the Internet Movie Database
• Kamal Hassan's Bio

[edit] References