Kamal’s close bond with Sivaji Ganesan and his family is well-known. The latter’s wife, Kamalammal, passed away a few days ago. Kamal had this to say about the lady who even had a name similar to his.

“I am grateful that she passed away after her husband expired, or the man could not have coped with her loss. They were such an intimate couple. I saw their love for each other grow beautifully over the years,” he said.

“She made sure that actors like us, who would not speak a word in front of Sivaji Ganesan, felt at ease. I played some of my films such as ‘Virumandi’ in her house and she gave me very honest, valuable feedback,” he said, adding, “She is the first lady in the history of Tamil culture.”

This was part of a report by The Hindu.

Kamal’s birthday is a big day for fans. The social service activities reach their peak on this day. This time around, we have quite a bit of celebration on TV too.

The fans’ association, Kamal Haasan Narpani Iyakkam, is organising a massive blood donation drive, designating November as “Life Saver Month”. 15000 fans will donate blood all over Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, Vijay TV, which has always displayed a fondness for Kamal, is coming up with a slew of programmes. One of them is Kamal Kaviyarangam, a literary event featuring poets. It will be conducted by Professor Gnanasambandhan, who is a friend of Kamal. The actual event, which allows free entry, will be held on Sunday, November 4, while the recorded version will be telecast on the birthday.

While it is appreciable to recognise Kamal for what he is, a literary event singing paeans seems to be going a bit overboard. Anyway, fans will have a field day.

[With input from Ananth]

With Dasavatharam in its post-production phase, even bits and pieces of news seem to be tightly controlled. The calm before the storm? Anyway, we do get a few peeks, now and then, through various people associated with the movie.

As reported earlier, lyricist Kapilan has a part in the movie. He has spoken proudly to a Tamil magazine recently. During the interview, it is also revealed that Dasavatharam features unauthorized sand dredging. Read the Behindwoods report for more details.

Meanwhile, Rajnikanth, who has had glimpses at various stages of Dasavatharam, is said to have checked out a few portions with the director, KS Ravikumar. He was mighty impressed (news in Tamil) and called up Kamal to convey his praise.

As fans, we still await official word on when the audio would be out and the actual release itself.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]