Here’s an interview with S Muthukumar, photographer and son of DNS (long-time associate of Kamal), which appeared in Express Buzz a while ago. He has worked with Kamal in many movies — Hey Ram, Marudhanayagam, Mumbai Xpress, Dasavathaaram and upto Unnaipol Oruvan. In addition to his experiences with Kamal, you also get to see a very new still from Marudhanayagam! Below is a snippet from the interview before you click away!

Kamal Haasan is a great person to work with. He ensures that everyone eats at the same time and the same food is served to all. Every moment spent with Kamal Haasan’s crew is a learning experience.You can pick up so much by just being around them.

While the Eenadu trailer was launched officially in Hyderabad on Saturday and distributed to various Web-sites, Unnaipol Oruvan’s was soft-launched on Facebook around midnight (India time) subsequently. We expect the Tamil trailer to be officially launched on August 31, Monday, along with the audio. Till then, check out the one on Facebook and the Telugu trailer on IndiaGlitz or 123Telugu.com.

Both trailers look slick and setup the basic plot which will help draw audience to the theatres. But surprisingly, the Tamil version is a whole 50 seconds longer.

A good number of stills of Eenadu are out too! Check out 123Telugu.com (stills | posters) and GreatAndhra.com.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

The latest issue (July 2008) of S, the magazine from the famous Sathyam Cinemas of Chennai, features an interview with Kamal done shortly after Dasavathaaram. Kamal speaks frankly about the business aspects of the movie in the cover story titled “Colossus of a Different Kind”. He also reveals that he’s trying to rope in Amitabh Bachchan for Marmayogi. Here are some portions for a quick taste.

What brought about Dasavathaaram?
It was a sort of a vague; not a very scientific analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of other projects and an assessment of the existing competition, that got things started. There was also a lot of thought about why some films do well and how even very good ones, simply go down the drain.

Just making Dasavathaaram alone would not have been sufficient; a release pattern like this combined with the product is what is making it work so well.

Never before has a Tamil film been released on this scale. We have very successfully countered the piracy market. Only the very lazy, like couch potatoes will watch it on DVD. Anyone who can go out for an idli, a paan or cigarettes can’t miss seeing the film in a theatre.

Especially women, who say it is like watching an old MGR film. I don’t know what I did right, but I hope I can do it again.

And the lesson we learn about films is that, no one person can claim responsibility for it. It is a democratic process and a great deal of teamwork. If at all anyone can take credit, it is the person who says it is good. But even he is not alone for just a few cannot make that difference. Film ultimately is the most democratic art form I have ever seen.

…people are commenting and there is a paper and explanations doing the rounds on the net–some have taken up arms against it and are for it.

To me the ascent of man in itself is a mind-boggling thing. And Darwin’s theory is something I believe to an extent. In fact, if somebody asks me what gothram I am, I always joke and say Darwin gothram. What I do try is to keep fit. For ultimately it is the survival of the fittest.

The cover of the magazine has a wonderful photograph of Kamal in black-and-white, while the article is decorated with stills from his famous movies.

Download your free copy and enjoy the whole interview!

About a week after Dasavathaaram released, here are the officially released stills of 7 characters not directly publicized till now.

Check out more at Chennai 365, Sify.com and Behindwoods.

[With inputs from Ananth]

Here are the few pre-shoot stills of Marudhanayagam stills that made their way to the Net today! We can immediately relate it to the famous trailer that came out quite a while ago. Enjoy!

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]

Click for larger image

Okay, this is a bit late. But Dasavathaaram hasn’t yet released; so, it isn’t too late. Clever and patient folks have managed to ‘decode’ the 10 roles of Kamal from the trailer. The trailer did seem like a puzzle. Now it has been solved by fellow fans Directhit and Madhan.

Click for larger image

In this age of Internet and associated tools, it’s a surprise that the makers decided to embed all the 10 roles in the trailer and not leave it for the audience to discover it on the big screen.

Here are some new stills / posters of Dasavathaaram that came out in the past couple of days. Enjoy!

[With inputs from Ananth]

Just as a hero smashes obstacles and emerges victorious in movies, Kamal is used to doing that with controversies and cases in real life. The latest case, alleging anti-Hindu aspects in Dasavathaaram, was dismissed today, as expected. Read reports from The Hindu and Thatstamil. [Readers are encouraged to post more links regarding the same in the Comments section.]

Let’s hope that the movie will release on June 6 without any more delays and nuisances.

[With inputs from Ananth]