Kamal Hassan Exclusive Talk:Shruthi is back to take rest.
Posted by SRINU GUNTURU | | Posted On Friday, August 28, 2009 at 1:07 AM
And for a vast majority of those in Indian cinema, Padmashree Kamal Haasan and his performances are the best. A gifted artiste, doting father and a fine human being, Kamal Haasan is a celebrity in every sense of the word.
A truly global artiste whose performances have and continue to be the benchmark for several artistes in India and abroad. In an exclusive to Chennai Times, the ace actor opens up on his next project Unnaipol Oruvan (UO) ...
Generally, when people need to improve their performances, they tend to compare themselves with the best to derive the motivation to perform better. When you are the best, who do you compare your performances with? What was the motivation factor in UO?
In the case of UO, the content was the motivation. Naseeruddin Shah’s performance was a challenge. If you observe, Kamban wrote the Ramayana as it was a challenge to him.
Is there friendly competition when two classy actors work together? In the case of UO, you and Mohanlal?
Absolutely. And we like each other. All the while, every actor is in competition, whether he is in the same film or not. Whenever I watch a good movie of Mohanlal’s, I feel like doing a movie better than his and when he watches a good film of mine, he feels likewise. We both initiate and encourage each other. The idea is that if the competition is negative in nature, we will only head downwards. The gravity will drag us down and we will have to remain 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?
On the power of art ...
When I watch a superb performance, I forget everything else apart from the performance of that individual. When a Pakistani actor acts well, I forget about the man (Kasab) who is testifying in the court. I forget the Pakistanis who backstabbed us on 26/11. At that moment, I only think of the artiste who has performed well. Art has that strength and the same strength prevails in justice and in righteousness. So, the more art proceeds towards righteousness, the more its victory will be known to the world.
Surya, who had to play the role of a ten-year-old in Aadhavan, had to strain himself for almost 15 days. The actor had openly expressed his admiration for you after playing the role, as you’ve donned 10 such difficult roles in another film. Please comment ...
It is like a younger brother watching and learning from an elder brother or a son learning from his father. What I did in Dasavatharam, I did watching Navarathri. There is nothing to hide or feel shy about it. If you were to ask Sivaji sir as to how he did it, he would have said that he did it by watching Jagathalaprathapan. It is the duty of the next generation to outclass or outperform its preceding generation. A generation that fails to do this can only be termed as one that is backward. Now, my duty is to go beyond the distance that Sivaji sir travelled. A child that sits on his shoulders shouldn’t think that he is taller than the person bearing him nor should he keep looking down. When a child gets the permission to get on the shoulders of an achiever, it should only look ahead. That is the child’s duty. Vairamuthu too has said this.
Although I feel happy to remain at the feet of Kannadasan, I would love to sit on his shoulders and see the world.” At least, Vairamuthu said he would like to do that. I had permission to do that. So, when I have had the permission, how can I look down? I should only look ahead.
On Shruthi Haasan, who is making her debut as a music director...
Shruthi went abroad to study for two-three years. When she returned, she was a different person. It took three years for me to introduce myself to that Shruthi. And she continues to grow. What is important is that Shruthi is back to take rest under this shade, not to stay.
A truly global artiste whose performances have and continue to be the benchmark for several artistes in India and abroad. In an exclusive to Chennai Times, the ace actor opens up on his next project Unnaipol Oruvan (UO) ...
Generally, when people need to improve their performances, they tend to compare themselves with the best to derive the motivation to perform better. When you are the best, who do you compare your performances with? What was the motivation factor in UO?
In the case of UO, the content was the motivation. Naseeruddin Shah’s performance was a challenge. If you observe, Kamban wrote the Ramayana as it was a challenge to him.
Is there friendly competition when two classy actors work together? In the case of UO, you and Mohanlal?
Absolutely. And we like each other. All the while, every actor is in competition, whether he is in the same film or not. Whenever I watch a good movie of Mohanlal’s, I feel like doing a movie better than his and when he watches a good film of mine, he feels likewise. We both initiate and encourage each other. The idea is that if the competition is negative in nature, we will only head downwards. The gravity will drag us down and we will have to remain 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?
On the power of art ...
When I watch a superb performance, I forget everything else apart from the performance of that individual. When a Pakistani actor acts well, I forget about the man (Kasab) who is testifying in the court. I forget the Pakistanis who backstabbed us on 26/11. At that moment, I only think of the artiste who has performed well. Art has that strength and the same strength prevails in justice and in righteousness. So, the more art proceeds towards righteousness, the more its victory will be known to the world.
Surya, who had to play the role of a ten-year-old in Aadhavan, had to strain himself for almost 15 days. The actor had openly expressed his admiration for you after playing the role, as you’ve donned 10 such difficult roles in another film. Please comment ...
It is like a younger brother watching and learning from an elder brother or a son learning from his father. What I did in Dasavatharam, I did watching Navarathri. There is nothing to hide or feel shy about it. If you were to ask Sivaji sir as to how he did it, he would have said that he did it by watching Jagathalaprathapan. It is the duty of the next generation to outclass or outperform its preceding generation. A generation that fails to do this can only be termed as one that is backward. Now, my duty is to go beyond the distance that Sivaji sir travelled. A child that sits on his shoulders shouldn’t think that he is taller than the person bearing him nor should he keep looking down. When a child gets the permission to get on the shoulders of an achiever, it should only look ahead. That is the child’s duty. Vairamuthu too has said this.
Although I feel happy to remain at the feet of Kannadasan, I would love to sit on his shoulders and see the world.” At least, Vairamuthu said he would like to do that. I had permission to do that. So, when I have had the permission, how can I look down? I should only look ahead.
On Shruthi Haasan, who is making her debut as a music director...
Shruthi went abroad to study for two-three years. When she returned, she was a different person. It took three years for me to introduce myself to that Shruthi. And she continues to grow. What is important is that Shruthi is back to take rest under this shade, not to stay.
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