A delightful interview of Kamal given to a Malaysian TV channel is doing the rounds on the Net. Kamal appears more relaxed than usual. Also, the show is different since it is a live programme with audience and phone-in viewers too. Some highlights:

• Kamal is very frank about the necessity of fans for a star.
• He mentions the usual suspects — his mother, Balachander and Sivaji Ganesan — and even MGR. He later talks about his experiences with MGR — the days when he was dance assistant, the fitness tips he received and the appreciation he got.
• Kamal says that he doesn’t really live a role. He says that the performance is based on lot of preparation. He also later admits that he only does roles that suits him. He even extrapolates that people like Sivaji Ganesan, Sean Penn and Ed Norton did or do the same.
• He fondly recollects his association with Mani Ratnam. Also, he reveals that, for Nayagan, he did the make-up for himself.
• He talks about working with Nasser repeatedly, when questioned by the audience. He says that Nasser is a good friend, good actor, good human being, movie-lover and Tamil-lover. He goes as far as saying that Nasser’s presence improves the quality of his movies overall.
• About Hey Ram’s failure, he says that it’s also his fault that he didn’t prepare the audience sufficiently for it.
• For the cliched question of how did he act as the dwarf Appu in Apoorva Sagodharargal, this time, he says that he’s planning a TV series.
• Finally, he says that the movie industry doesn’t provide essential services and that we have to be aware of that.