Kamal Haasan on home ground

It was virtually a family function for World Star Kamal Haasan at the audio launch function of Unnaipol Oruvan at Sathyam Cinemas recently. In his home production, his elder daughter Shruthi has composed the music and his second daughter Akshara has choreographed a song.

Kamal's joy knew no bounds when two of his mentors – mega producer AVM Saravanan and epic director K. Balachander – came on stage to shower their blessings.

Not agreeing with the media view that the industry has hit a rough patch, Kamal said the need is to produce quality movies in sync with prevalent technology. On Unnaipol Oruvan, Kamal said the movie is all about an individual who lets out his fury at the system or the lack of it prevalent in our society

“There is no preaching but simply facing matter threadbare. The audience is intelligent enough to understand matters presented in a straight way. The changes from the original were inevitable as the magnitude of the problems varies from one state to another,” Kamal said.

Kamal to truly pleased when a distributor said that Shruthi's music is of top quality. "I think the decision to send Shruthi abroad to learn the nuances of music has paid off,” smiled the proud father.

When the topic veered to his next film, Kamal said a period film directed by Mysskin is very much on the cards. But before that will come his directorial venture with a prominent role earmarked for Balachander. Kamal freely admitted his gratitude to KB in his journey stretching to 50 years.

On Akshara's entry into films, Kamal said as a father he has a duty to guide but the children have the freedom to choose their professions.

On the advent of digital cinema, Kamal saw it as a positive sign for the growth of the industry. “Why do you have to press the panic button when making a movie gets so simplified?” asked Kamal.

Sivaji Ganesan set lofty standards: Kamal Haasan

In his inspiring speech, Universal Star Kamal Haasan said that he was privileged to be seated on the dais at the function in Madurai marking the unveiling of the 8.5' bronze statue of thespian actor Sivaji Ganesan.

Kamal said that he not only learned acting from Sivaji, but also the finer qualities which a human being should possess. “Actors of my ilk are inspired by the Himalayan heights he had set. Our biggest motivation is to be acting in the same century. I always think of Sivaji's face while trying to give perfection to a shot,” said Kamal Haasan.

Veteran actor Vijaykumar, who had been part of many movies with Sivaji, said it is inevitable that present day actors carry the brand of the Sivaji style of acting.

Actor Nepoleon recalled the time when Sivaji daringly acted with an elephant in Saraswathi Sabatham against the advice of the movie's director, A.P. Nagarajan. “The elephant had gone berserk but nothing could stop Sivaji from going through with his act. It spoke volumes of his dedication and the inclination to take any challenge head-on."

Comdian Vadivelu recounted the valuable lessons he learnt during the shoot of Devar Magan. “In a scene where my character had to break down, Sivaji said the effect will be greater if I had a cloth on my mouth. Looking at things from others' viewpoint was his great trait,” Vadivelu said, hard-pressed to check his emotions.

Pyramid Saimira didn’t have money to complete ‘Marmayogi’: Kamal Haasan

Chennai, Sep 10 (IANS) Tamil thespian Kamal Haasan Thursday rubbished reports that he had breached his contract with Pyramid Saimira by leaving “Marmayogi” in the lurch and clarified that the “production house didn’t have enough funds to finish the project”.

“The debacle of our film ‘Marmayogi’ and the circumstances around it are well known. I worked on ‘Marmayogi’ for a year. I made elaborate preparations, had sets built and even did some shooting. I didn’t take any other assignment during that period,” Kamal said in a statement.

“The project was put on back burner because Pyramid Saimira could not arrange funds to continue shooting. Having lost one year and an income of about Rs.40 crore, I had issued a notice to Pyramid Saimira on April 12, 2009 demanding payment of Rs.40 crore,” he added.

Kamal says he hasn’t received any reply from Pyramid on the notice.

“Probably to counter my legal action against them, they have decided to go to the press to campaign against me and sent me a notice making wild and false allegations. An interim reply also has been sent to it,” said the thespian who recently completed 50 years in showbiz.

“The fact remains that I have obtained a caveat against them. Neither I nor Raajkamal Films International have received any stay order from any court. I will shortly be seeking legal advice on this case.”

Production house Pyramid Saimira Wednesday slapped a lawsuit on Tamil thespian for taking his fees (Rs.10.90 crore) but not completing “Marmayogi”.

Pyramid Saimira claims that Kamal had promised that first he would complete “Marmayogi” and then start work on any other movie. But the actor went ahead with the shooting of “Unnaipol Oruvan”, which is co-produced by his production house Rajkamal Films International and UTV International.

“Unnaipol Oruvan” is scheduled for a Sep 18 or 25 release.

Kamal’s image is not a hurdle

While Unnaipol Oruvan is geared up for September release, debutant director Chakri spoke to the media recently about working with two biggest legends of South Indian cinema quite early in his career. Having studied Film technology from the United States, Chakri’s brush with luck came when he met Kamal during the shoots of Dasavatharam. He played Kamal’s friend in the movie as well and subsequently invited by him to direct Unnaipol Oruvan.

“One question I face often is about the star value of actors who are part of the remake,” he said. While ‘A Wednesday’ starred actors with no image quotient, the Tamil version has two biggest names in the industry. “But Kamal and Mohanlal have already cut loose from the image circle and done unconventional roles. So it really doesn’t matter here,” he added.

Tollywood prefers Kamal

Tollywood supersedes Kollywood in felicitating Kamal Hassan. The star’s 50th year in cinema is being celebrated by film fraternity and fans. Though a bit late the Tamil film industry did not fail to give what is due to the actor, by announcing a felicitation function on September 12th.

What is noteworthy is that the Telugu film industry has decided to show their love for the actor by announcing a function two days earlier to the Tamil film industry on September 10th, 2009. The function will see all big names in Tollywood.

Wonder why the Tamil film fraternity failed to see this earlier.

Kamal-Mohanlal: Healthy competition

The vast spaces of the cine sky has room for any number of stars – big and small – to twinkle away. Yet these stars are forever trying to outshine one another and grab more attention. What happens when two dazzling stars come face-to-face? Do they burn each other out? What happens when Mohanlal takes on Kamal Haasan head-on? Healthy competition!

“Absolutely,” asserts Kamal. Adding, “Every actor is in competition, whether he is in the same film or not. Whenever I watch a good movie of Mohanlal’s, I am spurred on to do a better one. He feels the same way when he watches a good movie of mine. There is competition but we channel it such that it encourages the other person. If the competition is negative in nature, the outcome will not be constructive. Gravity will drag us down and keep us there. To get up and fly, we need to motivate each other. The concept of destroying your enemy completely is a concept that does not exist in modern day warfare. When it is a non-existent concept in the art of modern day war, how can it be there in the field of art, in which enemies don’t exist?” Food for thought?