Check out Kamal’s interview on NDTV’s Walk the Talk — not a great interview, but interesting to see him in a casual chat. Kamal talks about Rajnikanth, Jayalalitha, MGR, etc.

50 in 55 - wow!
‘Tis amazing that not even five years of your life
Has been outside the world of arts.
But legend has it that your father
Started preparing even before you were born!

The seventh day of November!
‘Tis not that we think of you only this one day.
You’re a constant undercurrent in our thoughts –
We relate any remote possible thing to you.
But today, you’re at the top of our minds.

Ah, the positive waves!
We wish you well today.
We are grateful for the glorious past, and
Our desire is you entertain and
Educate us for years to come.

What you mean to us!
You are the man who raised the level of
Appreciation, Knowledge and Passion
For movies amongst us.
Even outside that sphere, you astound and inspire us.

Sometimes, greed feels good!
We want more from you,
We want more of you.
We are a voracious lot.
Our good wishes have that innate selfishness.

Here are some more photos from the valedictory function of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Check out more from Behindwoods.

[Picture courtesy: Behindwoods]

The valedictory function of the recently concluded Golden Jubilee celebrations is to be telecast on Vijay TV on October 12 and 13. The promotional video of the programme is out. The idea behind putting this up is not to promote a specific TV channel but to provide glimpses of the performances and what various people had to say. Enjoy!

[Video courtesy: Behindwoods]

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]

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!

As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations organized by Vijay TV, “Kamal Express” rolled out of Chennai on August 24, as per plan.

The bus left from AVM Studios and was flagged off by AVM Saravanan. It is apt that the bus originated from here since Kamal’s first movie Kalathur Kannammaa was shot here. Others present included Aksharaa Haasan, Subbulakshmi, Rama Narayanan and VC Guhanathan. Read more from The Hindu and Behindwoods.

IndiaGlitz has a video and photos for a peek into the bus, speeches by the guests and more. Also, check out Galatta.com, Behindwoods and Chennai365 (1 | 2 | 3).

Several members of the Kamal Haasan Orkut community were there, including Shankar ‘Ulagam’. Check out their celebrations and posters in these photos.

The bus was also sighted at Puducherry (Pondicherry). Did you catch the bus anywhere? Let us know your experiences in the Comments section!

[With inputs from Ananth and photos via Shankar ‘Ulagam’]

When Kamal stepped into his Golden Jubilee year on August 12, there were several who wished him. Kamal celebrated the occasion with a few close associates and well-wishers.

There were quite a few who put out ads in newspapers, while partially seeking publicity for themselves. Here are some of them.

Unlike some earlier occasions including Dasavathaaram, the media did justice this time.

• NDTV, CNN-IBN and Times Now carried interview snippets. The first two videos are featured above. Watch Kamal talk about his childhood acting experiences, “sibling” relationship with Sridevi, about Mani Ratnam and acting with Mohanlal among other things. He also mentions for the first time about not going ahead with 19 Steps (or The 19th Step?).
• Thenaali.com featured a long tribute from Prakashraj (aka Prakash Rai).
• Deccan Chronicle carried a short interview, where Kamal underplays the significance of the milestone.
• Nighazhuvugal.com came up with a piece that included a list of all his movies.
• The Times of India came up with a good photo gallery.
• Vikatan.com came up with a list of 50 tidbits.
• Read other reports from The Hindu, Sify.com, The Times of India, Thatstamil, Chennai365, Galatta.com, India Today, SivajiTV.com, Behindwoods, and Dinamani and Maalaisudar. Sify.com now also has a separate page for Kamal-related news and other stuff.

[With inputs from Ananth]

Signalling the end of Unnaippol Oruvan shooting, Kamal appeared in a new get-up, reminiscent of Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu.

The first place he was seen was Balachander’s office / house, along with his family, to wish KB on his birthday. Surprisingly, the only Web-site to report it was Top10Cinema.com, with some casual pictures. Top10Cinema.com and Behindwoods carried the casual pictures.

The second event was the launch of hardum.com, a social networking Web portal. The site created by alumni of Anna University was launched by Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala. Check out reports and photos at Express Buzz and the Raj Bhavan site.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods / Raj Bhavan, Chennai]

[Updated 13 Jul 2009: Photos from Behindwoods]