The Golden Jubilee celebrations organised by Vijay TV with the fans’ association came to a close on September 28, Monday. Though the valedictory function was not as big as originally envisioned, it provided many memorable moments nevertheless. While we wait to watch it on Vijay TV by the weekend, here are updates and photos from the media.

Rajnikanth, Sarojadevi, K Balachander, Mohanlal, Mammootty, Venkatesh, Sarathkumar and others spoke at the function. Here are details from Dinamani, Nakkheeran and Maalaimalar (1 | 2). Illaiyaraaja and AR Rahman too wished Kamal on the occasion.

Rajni’s frank and generous speech was covered separately by Nakkheeran,. His camaraderie with Kamal was reported by Sify.com and Behindwoods.

Kamal gave an emotional response. Check it out at Dinamani and Nakkheeran.

Several of Kamal’s leading ladies including Radhika, Gautami, Urvashi and Jayachitra shared their experiences. Read about it on Maalaimalar.

It seems like the same set of photos were distributed by Vijay TV to the press. You can check it out on Behindwoods, IndiaGlitz, Chennai365 (1 | 2), CelluloidTamil, or SivajiTV.com. The Hindu though carried a slideshow of their own photos.

Read other reports from Sify.com, Thatstamil, The Times of India, NDTV, Express Buzz, Dinathanthi and Maalaisudar.

Prior to this function, Kamal and others went to the Marina Beach on the Kamal Express, where he garlanded Sivaji Ganesan’s statue.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Here is a collection of interviews done as part of the promotion for Unnaipol Oruvan / Eenadu. Before you check out each of them, sample the highlights.

Kamal in The Times of India:

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?

Mohanlal in Rediff.com:

I was more attracted to the story than the role. More than anything, Kamal Haasan was a major attraction.

While I was dubbing, Kamal Haasan was with me throughout to help me with my Tamil diction. I told him not to trouble himself and after the dubbing was over, if he needed any corrections, I would come and re-do it. Do you know what he said? He said, ‘I am very selfish about my films’. Because he had good command over the language, he stood by me throughout. It shows how passionate he was about film making.

Unnaipol Oruvan is produced by Kamal Haasan. Did you at any point fear that you would be overshadowed?

Such thoughts are unnecessary. Only insecure people think on those lines. I need to think how well I can portray the role given to me. If you are insecure about your role and if you feel that the other actor will overshadow you, you should not commit to such films. It is very shameful to think that the other person will overshadow you. I don’t think that way at all.

Chakri Toleti in Rediff.com:

This was your first film, and you were directing people like Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal who have won several national awards. Were you nervous?

I was more excited than nervous. It was a great opportunity and a directors’ dream to work with artists like Kamalji and Lal.

Did you at any point feel that you will be overshadowed by the Haasan family?

[Laughs] It did not even cross my mind because of the relationship I have with Kamalji. He has given me 100% control over the film. I really appreciate that. I am fortunate to have such a producer. He is playing multiple roles in the film, that of the producer, lyricist, and actor.

Ganesh Venkatraman in The Times of India:

Kamal sir has always been a big inspiration and when I met him during the first schedule, I was awestruck by his preparedness and dedication.

[With inputs from Ananth]

The first set of reviews of Unnaipol Oruvan is out, all of them giving a positive opinion (which even Dasavathaaram didn’t manage). Featured below are a couple of good ones, along with highlights.

Rediff.com:

Unnai Pol Oruvan is a must-watch

..what really makes Unnai Pol Oruvan a great movie are these things: the lack of songs (or unnecessary fight sequences) anywhere in the narrative except for soaring background bits; the way secondary characters, especially Sethuraman, Natasha and Arif Khan are handled; showing various aspects of the very real battle the police force faces on a day to day basis, instead of having one hero demolish all…

Era Murugan’s (and Kamal’s) dialogues are brilliant (even if they get wordy at some places). The duo does keep in mind the common man’s perspectives, and the little nuggets of humour are a definite delight.

Mohanlal is a delight…

The surprise package (in more ways than one) is Ganesh Venkatram.

Sify.com:

Kamal Hassan’s Chakri-Toleti directed Unnaipol Oruvan is new age Tamil cinema, which we can say proudly, is a must-watch.

…outstanding performances from the lead actors, mainly Kamal and Mohanlal, who simply rock.

…almost equal screen time is given to Mohanlal.

Kamal’s emotional outburst at the end, is heart rending and perhaps one of the finest piece of acting seen in Tamil cinema.

Ganesh Venkatram has a tailor-made role, and this film is going to be his big ticket to stardom.

Go for it and encourage good meaningful cinema.

[With inputs from Ananth]

What one imagined to be a minor irritant caused some tension in the eleventh hour. However, decks have been cleared for Unnaipol Oruvan / Eenadu to release on September 18 as planned. Here is the sequence of events related to Pyramid Saimira’s allegations against Kamal.

• It started last week with Pyramid Saimira issuing a legal notice to Kamal asking him to repay advance paid towards Marmayogi and then going to town about it. Many news outlets including The Times of India, Express Buzz, Sify.com, Thatstamil, Behindwoods, Galatta.com, and Dinamalar lapped it up.
• Kamal gave a fitting response by revealing details of the legal notice he had to sent to Pyramid Saimira way back in April.The full press release can be seen at Chennai365. Details can be browsed at Sify.com, Behindwoods, Galatta.com or Dinamalar. 1-0 to Kamal.
• After this, Pyramid Saimira went ahead and filed a case on Monday requesting a stay on the release on Unnaipol Oruvan and Eenadu. The court ordered “status quo”, which was interpreted in different ways by different sections of the media. Read more from ChennaiOnline, Dinamani, IndiaGlitz, SivajiTV.com and Dinathanthi. While it is a well-known fact that Marmayogi was shelved due to lack of funds from Pyramid Saimira, they put the blame on Kamal citing lack of co-operation. It was obvious that this was an attempt to extract money in the eleventh hour.
• Raajkamal Productions filed an initial response on Tuesday. Check out Thatstamil, Galatta.com, Dinamani, Dinathanthi, Dinamalar and Maalaisudar for more.
• Kamal was said to have been calm during this time. He held preview shows for select audience. Some details are available from Thenaali.com.
• The complete response was heard today (September 17) and the request for stay was rejected! The case is not over though, with the court asking Kamal to deposit Rs. 4 crores by the end of the month. Details can be found at The Hindu, Thatstamil, IndiaGlitz (1 | 2), Galatta.com, SivajiTV.com, Webdunia and Thenaali.com. 2-0 to Kamal!

As fans, while we are happy to hear that the release of the movie(s) is in no trouble, we are also eager to witness the knock-out punch to Pyramid Saimira!

An interesting aside to these events is that Kamal and Sridevi were in Chennai High Court today, the latter too for a similar case!

[With inputs from Ananth]

As the day of release nears, newspapers of South India are flooded daily with ads of Unnaipol Oruvan and Eenadu. Here are some of them, courtesy of Kamal Haasan Orkut community again!

Here are videos of fans celebrating Vijay TV’s Kamal Express at Bangalore and Salem, courtesy Kamal Haasan Orkut community!

[Video courtesy: BehindWoods]

Unnaipol Oruvan’s audio released happened today at Sathyam Cinemas at 9 a.m. While we wait to collect news, photos and videos of the same, let’s take a look at the ads in the run-up to the release. You can see that Kamal propped up Shruti’s name as a proud father.

As part of the Golden Jubilee coverage, Kamal was recently featured on Your Call, a programme on NDTV. Above is the full video of the programme. Highlights:

• Cho pulling Kamal’s leg on entering politics
• Shruti’s personal banter with Kamal
• Kamal’s views on marriage and family, which hit the headlines on several media outlets and debated in the blogosphere

NDTV also has an informal video of Kamal just before the programme was shot. Enjoy!