Kamal and Rajni appeared together yet again, on the dais of a function to commemorate the 804th day of Chandramukhi. While speaking at the function, Kamal generously praised Rajni, talked about their friendship (in Tamil) and also declared that they would never act together again.

Check out more photos at Behindwoods. The event was widely reported in the media.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

As fans get nasty online after Sivaji is out, the two stars in question seem to be subtly suggesting to their admirers to take it easy. Take a look at the photos that were clicked at the audio launch of Thottaal Poo Malarum. Readers would recollect that Kamal and Rajni appeared together during the launch function of the same movie.

Check out all the photos at Behindwoods.

Updated: 26 Jun 2006, after Behindwoods pulled out the very photos that were published here, for whatever reason.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

I recently discovered through Thilak that the possible base for Dasavatharam’s story could be a little-known Spanish TV movie named Tempus Fugit. The matches seem too much to ignore:

• Kamal has the remake rights of Tempus Fugit.
• The movie is based on time-travel and Dasavatharam does span centuries.
• A prominent character in Tempus Fugit is a football fan and there is an important scene in a football stadium. Kamal is said to have got permission from Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, to shoot in the Nehru Stadium of Chennai.

Check out a review of the movie. Now, I’m wondering whether to watch it before Dasavatharam or after…..

Himesh Reshammiya recently spoke to Hindustan Times, about Dasavatharam and Kamal among other things. Here’s what he had to say:

…Kamalji is such a legend. He is the only reason why I have chosen to go southwards at a time when I have so much on my plate in Bollywood. A film featuring Kamal Haasan can’t be dubbed a regional film

From those who have watched Sivaji, news is that Kamal is mentioned in the movie a few times. Rajni imitates Kamal dancing for “Naeththu raathiri yammaa..” (Sakalakalavallavan). Also, there is a sequence where he cribs about being dark and tries to become “fair like Kamal Haasan”. With a lot of acrimony flowing between the two sets of fans, it is heartening to see Rajni being a sport.

Ever interested in furthering the cause of movies, Kamal has now talked about a new strategy to curb ‘black’ tickets. In a conference organised by FICCI, he spoke of selling Dasavatharam tickets through retailers. It would be interesting to see how exactly this will be implemented.

ThatsTamil has some details. Behindwoods has it in English while IndiaGlitz has more details.

The Dasavatharam story controversy is back, with Senthilkumar filing an appeal in the high court. Read details from newKerala.com and Behindwoods. Hope our wait isn’t prolonged further.

Meanwhile, the television rights for Dasavatharam has been sold to the yet-to-be-launched “Kalaignar TV”. Maalai Murasu (Tamil eveninger) first reported it. It was later lapped by others like Behindwoods and IndiaGlitz. There is also talk that Raajapaarvai has finally been offered for television and that Dasavatharam has sold for a higher price than Sivaji.

Shruthi and Aksharaa at the premiere of Ocean’s 13…

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Fellow blogger Bharath recently dug up an old article by Sujatha on Kamal. Dating back to 1976, it was probably the time when Sujatha and Kamal got acquainted. Without more ado, let me (not too badly) translate some key portions of the article.

There was nothing really luxurious in his room, save the air-conditioner…I spotted books on American film history and sound in cinema…He is very casual when explaining the funny things on his job. He knows of European directors like Polanski and Goddard. I’m able to enthusiastically analyse a shot from Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy with him for ten minutes. “Looks like Malayalam movies are not bad these days”, I said. “That was then. Now, Malayalam movies are going backwards”, he says. “Malayalam movie!”, he adds, pointing to his pink shirt.

“While picturising a song, it is convenient for the heroine to leave her hair loose. If she forgets the lip-sync, she can just hide behind her hair!”

In the loud-speaking and ‘loud-acting’ Tamil film world, I expect a new wave from the gentle, imaginative and believable Kamal Haasan.

Kamal was not even 22 at this time and was possibly on the verge of becoming a star. No more words from me. If you know Tamil, enjoy the whole piece.

Making all anxiously waiting Kamal fans sad is the news that Dasavatharam will release only by November 8 (Diwali day) and not August 15 as originally planned. Reliable sources say that the delay is because post-production is going to take about three months. Coincidentally, the new date is one day after Kamal’s birthday. Of course, we believe that Kamal will make it worth the wait.