K Balachander was delighted by Dasavathaaram and we already heard about it. But here are his exact thoughts.

I liked the film immensely for the wonderful dialogues and the way it has been mounted. I saw the film again. Being a student of cinema I’ll watch it a third time because he’s achieved so many things in one film. I have a few things to learn.

I have a lot to learn from him as far as technique is concerned. He’s outgrown everyone in Indian cinema.

He’s a man who revels in freshness. The effort he puts in is phenomenal. Others are only making money. This man has taken two years to complete this film. He could have amassed four times the wealth if he’d worked in more films.

…Kamal teaches everyone and fine tunes every other artiste’s performance on the set. He’s selfish to the extent that he wants the product to be good.

I told him I didn’t know what to make after watching the film and he said, “You made me.” I was touched.

This interview is brought to you by S Shivakumar in The Hindu. Regular readers of this blog would have seen other stuff from him earlier — Vishnuvardhan on Kamal and interview with Kamal. As seen in the above article, Shivakumar himself has not made up his mind about the movie. Here goes his review, reproduced with his permission.

The opening scene is riveting. Set in the 12th century it shows a lone Vaishnavite taking on the Shaivite ruler attempting to replace Vishnu with Shiva in a temple. His resistance and eventual submergence in the sea tied to the idol of his lord is brilliantly shot. Cut to the present where an Indian scientist is being honoured for saving the country from a biological weapon he’s developed. Rewind to the recent past. Our scientist helps in developing a weapon of in a vial which has the potential for mass destruction. He gets wind of the fact that his boss is trying to sell it off. The vial is mistakenly shipped to India and now scientist and an ex-CIA agent turned mercenary are in hot pursuit of it for different reasons.

A simple enough story but Kamal decides to pack in his beliefs, thoughts and philosophy about life into the three hours. The film talks about the chaos theory, the butterfly effect, atheism, the ecological imbalance that the mindless sand mafia is wreaking and the fact that ultimately nature is the greatest leveler. What sets Kamal apart as a filmmaker and actor is that he doesn’t believe in mindless entertainment. He tries to make people think though he doesn’t thrust his radical views on the paying public. With the failure of masterpieces like ‘Mahanadhi’ and ‘Anbe Sivam’ he tries to pack in humour, action and the sizzling Mallika Sherawat. So does the film work? Only in parts.

The fact is that Kamal has nothing to prove as an actor. He’s undeniably the most gifted actor on-screen. His body of work is unparalleled and is the only actor who’s got success on his terms. So the essaying of ten roles is only of academic interest. The discordant note is that some of the characters he plays have nothing to do with the plot. Mainly the seven foot tall Muslim and the Sardarji pop superstar. The plot thankfully does away with lengthy fights, duets and romance. Kamal the script writer, you feel has bitten off more than he can chew. He’s a gifted screenplay writer with classics like ‘Thevar Magan’, ‘Mahanadhi’ and that cult classic, ‘Micheal Madana Kamarajan’. Here he fails to sew the scenes seamlessly. The narration is jerky in the pursuit of giving importance to all the characters. The ten characters jostle for screen space.

Surprisingly the film is technically tacky. The computer graphics leaves a lot to be desired and the ruthless fury of the tsunami leaves you cold. The photography is brilliant though, especially a chase shot in the night.

Kamal’s acting is flawless. The prosthetics is over done but the way he changes his body language, voice and accent to suit the various characters is breath taking. There’s a brief shot of the Japanese Kung Fu master walking in silhouette. His gait in that brief shot encapsulates his dedication as an actor. Asin’s incessant chatter even in the face of adversity is irritating.

Don’t miss ‘Dashavatharam’. Kamal’s failure as a script writer is more than made up for by Kamal the master of masquerade.

S.Shiva Kumar

Producer: Aaskar Ravichandran

Director: KS Ravi Kumar

Photography: Ravi Varman

Music: Himesh Reshamiya

Cast: Kamalhassan Asin

Rating****

Here are photos from the preview of Dasavathaaram, held for some Kamal’s colleagues, at Four Frames theatre in Chennai.

The attendees included Rajnikanth, K Balachander, Nagesh, Manorama, Prabhu, Radhika, Sathyaraj, Sarathkumar, Surya, Bharath and few directors.

Check out the updates on MSN, IndiaGlitz, Chennai 365 and Adhikaalai.com.

More photos are at Behindwoods.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Have Dasavathaaram ticket in hand? If you’ve come here to get the last pieces of news before watching the much-awaited movie, here you go, with all that was left out till now and the latest.

• A widely reported rumour was that US President George W Bush might be watching the movie! Finally, it has been quashed by The Times of India, which reports that it was the handiwork of US distributors and also about a new rumour involving Presidential candidate Barack Obama. Another involved UN delegates!
• There is talk of a car chase sequence featuring 5 characters played by Kamal and Vincent Poovaragan (Tirunelveli Dalit character) providing comic relief.
• There were rumours that certain portions of the “Ka…karuppanakkum” song featuring Mallika Sherawat had some cuts. That’s not too bad considering the movie received a ‘U’ certificate.
• Ayngaran distributes the movie in UK, Europe, Gulf countries and Singapore. The Hindi version is delayed by 2 weeks apparently due to deals not being finalised.
• It is said that rates (distribution / ticket?) have been slashed in ‘C’ centres to enable more people to watch the movie.
• Aascar (note the name change) Ravichandran handed over a print of the movie to Kamal a while ago.
• Web-sites like Sify.com and IndiaGlitz have been running news items daily to whet the appetite of readers. Here are a couple from the latter, talking about the Tsunami sequence, how Kamal has achieved authenticity for the 12th century portion, the action sequences and finally proclaiming the movie a magnum opus even before release. Sify.com threw light on the excitement and expectation among Kamal’s colleagues and provided other updates.
• There was a reported clash with an animated Hindi movie named Dashavatar. Not sure what’s happening with that.
• KollywoodToday.com put up a list of movies featuring the same actor in many roles.
• We had news of how Dasavathaaram is being insured.
• Finally, let’s check out some interviews: Kamal in The Hindu, NDTV and News Today | Asin in Rediff.com | KS Ravikumar in Sify.com | Brian Jennings (visual effects supervisor) in Rediff.com.

[With inputs from Ananth & A1]

The Dasavathaaram release is less than a day away in most places whereas some lucky folks in Muscat (and other Arab countries?) have already watched the movie! They are gushing with excitement obviously.

Anyway, before all that, it was the the turn of VIPs. First, it was Tamil Nadu Chief M. Karunanidhi. The man, who has a soft spot for Kamal, was all praise. It was said that ex-CM Jayalalithaa too would get a screening; but that does not seem to be happening.

Kamal’s colleagues in the movie industry, including Rajnikanth, got a special screening. The Hindu carries some wonderful photographs. Check out reactions and reports at Behindwoods and Sify.com (1 | 2).

Here are some more articles on Kamal and Dasavathaaram that appeared on Rediff.com.

The first one is an interview with Thota Tharani, one of the three art directors. He shares his experiences along with some drawings, including scenes in the Oval Office and involving the Tsunami. Below are a couple of his thoughts on Kamal. Enjoy the whole article!

I have done more than eight films with Kamal, and between us, we have won 5-6 major awards including national awards for Nayagan and Indian. We also won the state awards for Raja Parvai and Sagara Sangamam.

Kamal is unlike any other artiste I have seen. That is why I was asked to create a story board for Dasavathaaram. Though I am not a story board artiste, Kamal and I sat together and did this story board on the tsunami.

Then, we have an interview with yet another Kamal fan, Malayalam actor Jayasurya. One would remember that he did a small but effective role in Vasool Raja MBBS. Highlights:

He is, without a doubt one of the greatest actors we have in Indian cinema as well as the world.

He has born to be an actor, no doubt about that. He takes only seconds to become the character. He improvises the mannerisms and dialogues as the shots are being canned. In fact, I did ask him about this and was surprised when he said that it was one trait he learnt from Malayalam cinema.

Movies are important to him like the air we breathe. His passion for the medium is truly commendable, and perhaps that gives him the strength to try out new experiments. He has set a different standard for himself and is a league apart from almost every other actor in the business.

Finally, Rediff.com came up with a slideshow on Kamal’s interesting ‘avatars’, which though slipshod, is worth looking at.

[With inputs from A1]

Dasavathaaram has been getting quite a bit of publicity in all kinds of media. (The Hindi version, Dashavtar hasn’t had the same coverage though.) As part of it, we had two interviews recently, one with Kamal in Deccan Herald and another with Devisri Prasad on Rediff.com.

First, let’s hear it from Kamal:

Obviously this is what fuels all my passion for work. For a creative person, two factors act as fuel— the other being constructive criticism.

From Hollywood my favourites are Marlon Brando and Peter Sellers. From India, I am also a huge fan of Yusuf saab (Dilip Kumar). Sanjeev Kumar was another favourite. We worked together in Yaadgar and it was a great experience. We had another great common interest— food!

Knowledge should be acquired from anywhere in the world. Haven’t we taken the best in medicine and education from the West? The West has also taken a lot from us. We have been an international country now for 2000 years!

The standards of Hindi cinema have risen very highly in the last few years, especially in the matter of acting and technology. I keep telling our industry here that Hindi films are really beginning to give South Indian cinema a run for our money.

We have heard Devisri Prasad gush about working on Dasavathaaram before. Here’s more, where he also reveals that he did the background score for the trailer too:

One day I got a call from his office asking me for a meeting. We had a casual meeting at his office. I asked about his films. He asked me about my work — where I record and how. It was more of a general chat.

The producer said that Kamal Sir had seen a few films of mine and loved my style. He said he would really be happy if I did the background score so he asked me to find out. I fell off my chair when I heard it.

I went and we watched the film in the editing room. What was great about him was even though the voice work and other things were not done, like an assistant director he was prompting and telling me all the dialogues in sync with the scenes.

The greatest thing about him is, he always asks for our time. He doesn’t ask ‘would you come tomorrow?’ Rather he will say ‘are you free tomorrow?’

One day he called me to his office to show the promos. He took me around and showed me his conference room, his home theatre etc. He did not act like a star. At that moment he was just a simple man switching on the lights, fans and DVD player. I was shocked to see him take such pains to show me around.

I love him as a singer too and I want to make him sing a song soon. I hope he would do it for me. Kamal Sir has been a great inspiration for me.

In time for Dasavathaaram, Rediff.com provides continued focus on Kamal. Here, we cover a few recent pieces.

Madhavan declared himself a “hardcore Kamal fan”. Let’s have a few excerpts before you read the full interview.

After I started acting in television, people would call me for award functions. I accepted their invitations only to see Kamal Haasan in person. I would scream myself hoarse when he went to collect the awards.

That was when I met Kamal Sir for the first time in a hotel, where I was having dinner. He came over to me and said, ‘Madhavan, I have seen some of your work and they were good.’ You could have knocked me down with a feather, so great was my shock.

Working in the film was like studying in a university. Every minute I shot with him was pregnant with information. He was like a father figure to me on the sets.

What I learnt from him was that there is no shot in the world which is simple and can be taken lightly, and that you should give a hundred percent to every shot. It is amazing to see his dedication to each shot even after being in the industry for so many years. You see child-like enthusiasm, missionary zeal and extreme passion in each shot.

Then, we had a slideshow on some of Kamal’s movies in Kannada and Telugu. Check it out for some valuable information on unfamiliar movies like Kokila and Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu.

Finally, Rediff.com gives us an interesting look at his past heroines from Srividhya to Sridevi and Madhavi to Amala.

The last two pieces also feature some superb rare stills.

[With inputs from A1]

The music of Dasavathaaram is now out and reportedly making waves. But the reviews have been mixed. Check out opinions from Rediff.com, Behindwoods. and KollywoodToday.com.

Meanwhile, we have reports on the audio release function still pouring in. How about getting first-hand accounts? Jackie Chan and Amitabh Bachchan have blogged about the function and the portions of the movie they got to watch! Here are excerpts:

The movie, Dasavatharam, is truly a sight to behold. The story, directing, acting, camera work, special effects, everything about it is amazing. It really opened my eyes to modern Indian cinema. Of course I had seen Indian films before; I admire many of the actors, and really like the music and dancing. But this movie is really something else. Every element was amazing to me; and all the elements together just made a perfect and incredible movie! I won’t spoil anyone’s surprise by revealing the story now, since I think everyone should watch this movie. But I will say two things: watch for the environmental message, and all you directors in Hong Kong and China, watch this movie and start working harder than ever, because very soon now, Indian cinema will overtake us in the eyes of the international audience!

Its Kamal Hassan’s film ‘Dasavataram’ and its music release and he has asked me over to attend the function to commemorate the occasion. There’s Jackie Chan, and the Chief Minister of TamilNadu and several colleagues of Kamal. Its a warm friendly event. The few minutes of the promo seen looks awesome. He has played 10 different roles in the film, and all seem so difficult t identify !! Marvelous !!

Finally, here are some video reports.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

More from a different horse’s mouth — ‘Pop’ Shalini (aka Shalini Singh Balaje) opened up on Orkut and put up some comments regarding Dasavatharam. Here it is, verbatim:

Hey all,
After reading about how much interest you guys have on Dasa I thought I should let you guys know how I felt the music was since I have worked in it.I personally think that the songs are perfect commercial hits.My song is a commercial song which has Kamalji and Mallika SHerawat in it.I have seen the video too and I am totally excited!
It absolutely Rocks!!!
This man is talented!I couldnt believe it was him in that role.Im still in awe at the magnitude of perfection and pure cinema in Dasavatharam.
Dont think 10 times will be enough to watch this flick!

That Kamal enjoys widespread admiration among peers in his industry is a known fact. Let’s take a peek into the range of people who have been floored by him.

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi had this to say:

When I saw Kamal Haasan’s performance in Swatimuthyam (directed by K. Vishwanath), I was so moved that the next day I felt ridiculous to utter the same old routine dialogues for one of my commercial blockbusters…

Going up North, we encounter another big star, Govinda:

Kamal Hassan and Amitabh Bachchan are the kings.

Ashutosh Rana, who displayed his acting prowess in Sangharsh and Dushman, mentions Kamal in an interview:

I really have a high regard for Dilip Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Hassan.

Continuing with the North, even a new singer like Zubeen isn’t spared by the charm.

I love Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah and Marlon Brando. But Charlie Chaplin is my favourite.

His reach extends quite far.

New York actor Tirlok Malik, who played a suspected serial killer in a cameo with Haasan, said, It was such an honor to act with one of the greatest actors of India. Malik found, while observing Kamal Haasan acting in the movie over many days in New York, that Mr. Haasan makes acting seem so natural. Because any actor would be in awe of Mr. Haasan’s talent and body of work, Malik asked the star what makes a good actor. Mr. Haasan replied, modestly: Script, script, script.

Back to Tamil movies, director-turned-actor Cheran had to counter accusations of aping Kamal recently. Defending himself, he also heaped praise on Kamal’s achievements.

Shweta, who entralled us in Kutty as a child, declares herself a fan.

I am a complete Kamal Haasan fan. I adore all his movies. I really like Anbe Sivam, Virumaandi, basically all his movies.

Rising star Bharath joins the bandwagon.

He says, “It is no doubt a difficult thing to get ready with the make-up for the role. However, I keep myself enthusiastic thinking about Kamal Haasan, who takes several pains to don different make-ups”.

He also says that he had seen Kamal Haasan’s Enakul Oruvan more than several times to study the body language and mannerisms of a Nepali.

“No doubt, I am inspired by Kamal Haasan. He is my role model”, he adds.

Ravivarman, who worked with Kamal in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu and Dasavatharam had an interesting anecdote.

Listening to Ravi hum the tune, composer Thaman suggested Ravi sing it himself. “The song and Vairamuthu’s lyrics for it fascinated me. So I went ahead. I made my mentor Kamal Haasan listen to it, without telling him that it was in my voice. But he guessed it, praised me and suggested a few corrections in my diction. I rehearsed thoroughly and went back and recorded the piece again,” he says.

Let’s end with Karan, once again, whose relationship with Kamal is well-known.

From that scene till the end, Kamal taught me how to go about acting. Any misgivings vanished with the way he greeted me warmly every morning, as he stepped out of the car, a Contessa in those days.

[With inputs from HAL]