Kamal attended Jayam Ravi’s wedding on July 4. Here are some photos from Behindwoods. Sify.com, IndiaGlitz, Galatta.com and CineSnacks.com too had published photos.

Those who have watched the “Kalakka Poavadhu Yaaru” special programme on Jaya TV would remember Ravi dancing to one of Kamal’s songs.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Kamal participated in a felicitation function for the famous Tamil writer D. Jayakanthan, organised by Indo-Russian Cultural and Friendship Society (IRCUFS) and Russian Centre of Science and Culture on April 24.

Kamal who has always expressed his admiration for the writer, recalled his childhood memories of eavesdropping on his sister’s reading sessions with his mother. Again, childlike, he said he was thrilled to sit next to Jayakanthan.

Other attendees included lyricist Vairamuthu and industrialist N. Mahalingam. Read a report from The Hindu. More photos are available from Behindwoods, Chennai 365 and IndiaGlitz.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Here’s the just-out teaser trailer of Unnai Pol Oruvan, the remake of A Wednesday! Check out the official Web-site too.

All the details provided by Kamal earlier are confirmed in the teaser. Additionally, the rumours of his elder daughter, Shruti Haasan doing the music are proven to be true. The title clears the confusion created by the media linking this remake with Thalaivan Irukkindraan (which didn’t suit one bit).

Kamal does look simple in the trailer. The challenge will be to carry it on throughout the movie. The music seems suitable and I guess it’s Shruti’s high pitch vocals that are featured.

The title is very apt and reminiscent of Ennai Pol Oruvan, featuring Kamal’s favourite Sivaji Ganesan.

More analysis to come later…

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Video courtesy: BehindWoods]

On March 25, Kamal participated in the audio / trailer launch function of Pasanga, as announced earlier. But the pleasant surprise was that it turned out to be a memorable event for all-round camaraderie.

Ameer, who received the trailer from Kamal, set the tone with his open idolisation of Kamal. Kamal responded with modesty, while also using the opportunity to talk about Tamil movies in general, need for separate ‘XXX’ movies and even Slumdog Millionaire. Sasikumar was brief yet effective. Balamuralikrishna also added his bit. Watch the video of the delightful speeches on IndiaGlitz. The above video from SivajiTV.com and the one on ChennaiOnline are shorter versions of Kamal’s speech.

Read reports from Sify.com, MSN, Behindwoods, IndiaGlitz, Webdunia, Galatta.com, ChennaiOnline, Dinathanthi, Nakkheeran and TamilCinema.com.

Extensive photos are available from Behindwoods, IndiaGlitz, Galatta.com, Chennai 365 (1 | 2), KollywoodToday.com and Nakkheeran.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Editor’s Note:
Please welcome an enthusiastic new author, Sidhartha Shankar!

Kamal Haasan and Jackie Chan are legends in their own right. Kamal is known for his great versatility as an actor, whether it be playing a village buffoon in 16 Vayathinile, a slum-based don in Nayagan, a cop in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, or a psychopath in Aalavandhaan, Kamal has proved he has what it takes to essay different types of roles convincingly and effectively.

Jackie Chan on the other hand, is world-renowned for his daredevil stunts, which he has made it his norm, and he has taken pains in entertaining the public by risking life and limb on the big screen. Up until now, Jackie has broken possibly ever part of his body, having performed some of the most jaw-dropping stunts ever, whether it be sliding through electric wires or tumbling head down from a five-storey clock tower.

Kamal Hassan & Jackie Chan are men who strive hard to please their audiences through hard work, and their efforts are rewarded in the end, because these are two men that are honest in what they do and accomplish.

For a long time, I have been a huge fan of both these legends and I have dreamt of a possible meeting between the two. Little did I realize that it will actually materialize one day, when both these men would finally meet at the audio launch of Haasan’s most ambitious project to date, Dasavathaaram in April 2008. Jackie Chan liked the film and felt that Indian cinema would overtake Hong Kong and China in the “eyes of the international audience”! Jackie praised the star of the film, stating that “the star just like me, he can sing, he can dance, he can do stunts, he can fight”!

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, presiding over the event, made startling comparisons between the two men, stating the facts that they were both born in the same year 1954, that they were also born on the 7^th of the month — Jackie was born on the seventh of April, and Kamal was born in November — and that both men never shied away from taking any risk to make their films successful.

Kamal Haasan confessed at the audio launch that he had during his career, tried emulating Jackie Chan’s stunts, which resulted in “32 fractures” to his body; something which is apparent in Kamal’s films, where we see him doing some daredevil stunts of his own. For example, in his film, Kalaignan, he runs over vehicles and jumps up to a double-decker bus, something that is very similar to what Jackie did in Police Story. Also if you notice in Indran Chandran, where Kamal is trying to evade his purseurs, you see him jumping over walls and sliding underneath objects and demonstrating his fighting skills, something that Jackie would do. And in Meendum Kokila, when Kamal is being thrashed around by a powerful thug, he remembers the Bruce Lee movies, and hurls his “kung fu” kick at the villain. Ironically, Jackie Chan has always been held in comparison with the late Bruce Lee, and actually served as a stuntman in two of Lee’s films. Indeed there is a striking similarity between Kamal and Jackie.

At the same function, Jackie expressed a yearning to work with Kamal, something that the latter reciprocated, urging Chan to keep his promise of working on a possible film project together. I hope one day these two men work together, for it will be absolutely sensational seeing those two men share the big screen together and deliver action as they always do.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Prabhu’s daughter Aishwarya got married to her cousin Kunal, both grandchildren of the late Sivaji Ganesan. Kamal’s proximity to the family is known and he was present in the festivities.

While Gautami and the children attended both the reception and the wedding ceremony, Kamal was there only for the latter. Check out more photos on Sify.com, Behindwoods and IndiaGlitz and read reports on Behindwoods, Dinathanthi and Thatstamil. As usual, Kamal was seen sitting alongside Rajnikanth.

Kamal earlier attended the wedding reception of Rajeev Shah, son of Bharat Shah. One would remember that Bharat Shah was involved with Hey Ram. Kamal went alone to this function. Go and catch photographs from the event at NDTV, IndiaGlitz and NowRunning.com.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Unfortunately, the string of deaths of prominent film personalities associated with Kamal continues into 2009. Veteran actor Nagesh passed away on January 31 and Kamal bid an unusually emotional farewell to him. As can be seen from the photos here, Kamal was in tears, treating the death as a personal loss. Watch the video on IndiaGlitz. Also check out their photos and those from Behindwoods, Sify.com and Chennai365.

The mutual admiration society of Nagesh and Kamal is well-known. Over the past two decades, Kamal consistently included him in his movies, with a wide range of characters from the chief villain in Apoorva Sagodharargal to a dead body in Magalir Mattum. Nagesh won possibly his only National Award for Nammavar. Rightfully, his last movie was Dasavathaaram.

Read reports from Express Buzz, Sify.com, News Today (1 | 2), Behindwoods, IndiaGlitz, Thatstamil (1 | 2), Dinamalar, Dinathathi and Nakkheeran to know more about their association.

Kamal will also participate in a condolence function organised by the actors’ association, about which we will hear more soon.

[With extensive inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

With no confirmation on the remake of A Wednesday or any other project, confusion reigns supreme, especially regarding the former.

UTV, which owns the rights for the movie, is in trouble. Kiran Koneru of Shreya Films has sued them claiming that they promised the Telugu and Tamil rights to him, but backtracked and sold it to Kamal. UTV responded by saying that they haven’t sold the rights to anyone. (An interesting aside is that JD Chakravarthy, assigned to direct the remakes, is an ardent fan of Kamal.)

On the other hand, the media has been reporting with great conviction that Mammootty was first asked to co-star but later Kamal settled on Mohanlal. Read reports from The Hindu, OneIndia (1 | 2 | 3), Sify.com, MSN, Webdunia, Vannathirai, IndiaGlitz, Behindwoods and KollywoodToday.com. As you read these, you will also see that some of them speculate that Thalaivan Irukkindraan is the name of the re-make!

Amidst this, fans direct prayers towards their ‘Aandavar‘, awaiting an announcement.

[With inputs from Ananth]

Looking back at the past gives us a different and often wholesome perspective of events. It helps one derive confidence from accomplishments, learn from mistakes and recharge for a fresh new year. In our case, of course, we’re looking at Kamal’s 2008. To call this year eventful would probably be an understatement.

Dasavathaaram

The biggest event of the year was, obviously, the release of Dasavathaaram. In preparation for over 2 years, the movie released on June 13 to a overwhelming response, after many announced and rumoured dates (April 10, April 17, June 6).

The publicity build-up was slow and steady, unlike the bombardment of Aalavandhaan. In fact, many were wary of the hype being reminiscent of the 2001 failure. However, the reality matched or surpassed the expectations. Stills and the trailer were put out in a carefully phased manner to create excitement while not revealing too much about the movie. Here’s the progression: Avtar Singh in mid-air -> muscular Nambi in action -> Govind in lab -> miscellaneous ones before the audio release -> more stills along with the trailer -> miscellaneous ones shortly before the release. Actually, the buzz hit top gear with the release of the fast-paced trailer. Both the trailer and the public analysis that followed had a taste of things to come. The trailer had literally-blink-and-miss flashes of the ten roles and fans caught it.

In between all these came the high-profile audio release function featuring Jackie Chan and Amitabh Bachchan among others. After a painful gap (that was worth the wait ultimately), the movie arrived to a rousing reception. The media coverage was unprecedented. After the movie quickly reached blockbuster proportions, the ten characters were officially revealed.

The movie generated unparalleled reactions in the real and online worlds. Whether it was movie folks or bloggers, the excitement was infectious. The vibrations even rocked Google. But ultimately, the box-office spoke loudly and records were shattered all around.

Marmayogi & More

Even as Dasavathaaram was on the way, we heard of Marmayogi. Everything seemed to be proceeding well like a typical Kamal movie while problems with Pyramid Saimira, the co-producer, were rumoured. Again, things seemed back on track and news about cast and crew resumed flowing. Finally, the movie hit a roadblock citing the global economic meltdown as the reason. With no confirmation yet, along with a mention of Thalaivan Irukkindraan, the fate of the movie hangs in balance, even as there is revelation of Pyramid Saimira running into all kinds of trouble.

Interviews

Kamal’s interviews are always a delight to watch or read. He always manages to make each one interesting, while also revealing something new about himself. This year was loaded with many of them, especially as a by-product of Dasavathaaram’s promotion. Check out the top quotes below before diving into the year’s best for S (Sathyam Cinemas magazine), Hindustan Times / The Times of India, DNA / BusinessOfCinema.com, Mumbai Mirror and The Times of India.

The best part is that the producer was smiling at the start of the film and he still is smiling when it’s complete - which is very rare.

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.

I don’t know what I did right, but I hope I can do it again.

Both the times when you separated from your wives, there was another woman involved. Sarika led to your split with Vani and Simran caused a rift between Sarika and you.
Unless it’s a gay marriage, there’s always another woman involved.

Ten roles, isn’t he increasingly becoming self-indulgent in his films? “Who isn’t,” asked Kamal defensively. “Aren’t great actors like Yusuf saab and Amitabh self-indulgent? Who else should I love more than me? Brad Pitt?”

I have spent 500 hours doing make up itself and it takes a lot of perseverance and belief in what you are doing to keep doing it. If I spent that much time inside a cockpit I would be a successful commercial pilot.

“…There is a downside to everything. If we take ourselves too seriously, we actors will definitely need a psychiatrist.”

From the perspective of international standards, money and talent is being invested in the right direction and I feel that in two years from now nothing called Bollywood will exist.

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.

“…I am deeply hurt by what is happening around in the name of religion. I personally feel, whenever there is a crisis, God becomes a mere witness. I am happy with my decision,” he explains.

“…Spirituality makes you rest, makes you content. I will only settle down when I am in a coffin, under the earth or inside the fire. Till then I will keep myself active and alive…”

The other unusual interview was on books in the Tamil magazine Puthagam Peshudhu.

Social Service

Kamal is known for promoting social service through his fans’ association (Narpani Iyakkam). This year too, he kept the ball rolling with donation of exam kits to needy students in March and ceiling fans to orphanages in July. But the bigger involvement was as brand ambassador of Hridaya Ragam, the effort of the World Malayalee Council to conduct free paediatric heart surgeries.

Fans

Speaking of fans, there was quite a bit of activity on that front too. Kamal held a photo session for fans in February, like the previous year , and also felicitated some on the occasion. For his birthday, he discouraged celebrations on account of the Srilankan Tamils’ problem.

On the association front, there was some strong action. Key officials including the chief, R Gunaseelan, were sacked in August, for apparent misconduct.

At a smaller level, Arif, a fan from Kerala, declared his love for Kamal through a music video titled Avatharam.

Death of Colleagues

This year was, unfortunately, also big in terms of the passing away of many of his colleagues, one of them really close. That was Sujatha Rangarajan the writer. Kamal sent out a touching condolence message. Others were CV Sridhar, the director and MN Nambiar, the veteran actor.

Honouring Seniors

KM Aadimoolam, the famous artist, too passed away this year. Kamal released a biography of his and paid homage.

While paying respects to the departed was essential, Kamal did not miss honouring the living too. Manorama celebrated her 50 years in the movie field and Kamal was there to felicitate her.

Events

There were two protests held by the Tamil film industry this year, in the form of fasts. In April, it was for the Cauvery-Hogenakkal problem and then we had the one in November for the sake of Srilankan Tamils. At both places, Kamal shined as one of the sanest voices.

Towards the end of the year, Kamal participated in quite a few events related to film appreciation and production. In addition to being the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, he took part in a seminar on UK-India collaboration and the Indian Screenwriters Conference.

Audio release functions have become major launch pads for movies these days. Kamal graced quite a few in 2008 including Kodaikanal, Jayamkondaan and A Aa E Ee.

There were the customary wedding functions too. We had a whole lot of them in fact — Sibiraj, Prabhu’s daughter, Sarathkumar’s niece, Vairamuthu’s son, Senthil’s son, Professor Ku. Gnanasambandhan’s daughter, Mohan Natarjan’s daughter, Ahathian’s daughter and Arvind Krishna / Shreya Reddy.

Controversies

Controversies have been hounding Kamal, especially for the past few years. This year, we had the anti-Hindu allegations against Dasavathaaram, which was ultimately quashed in court.

Then there were the insiders, former associates, in fact. Bharathiraja, the great director of the past and the blabber-mouth of the present, attacked Dasavathaaram first and later Kamal’s acting skills. The grapes turned sour for Saran, another director coincidentally. After losing out on the opportunity to work with Kamal, Saran accused him of not returning advance money. Kamal watched in typical silence as both controversies died out.

Personal Life

There were no significant developments on the personal front. But we got to know a bit more of him this year, first as a father in Shruti’s music performance at the Rolling Stones India launch and then as a companion through an interview of Gautami.

Blasts from the Past

This year, we had quite a few interesting peeks into Kamal’s past. The long-kept secrets of Kamal’s dwarf act in Apoorva Sagodharargal (Appu Raja) were mostly let out by its director, Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao. As for the long-pending Marudhanayagam, after the trailer on the Internet in late 2006, came a few fantastic stills featuring Kamal. Also, we had a blog post on Kamal’s days in drama.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

This year, Kamal’s birthday received more coverage than earlier years, possibly as a result of the post-Dasavathaaram hype.

Express Buzz carried a piece with messages from a few actresses he has starred with — Sneha, Shobhana and Devayani. A sample from the first one:

He’s a pure genius when it comes to acting. But imagine the humility it takes to actually come to a new, young actress, and ask her not to get intimidated by other big actors in the scene!

The same Web-site also carried another tribute.

Sify.com published a slideshow of his performances which deserved the National Award but didn’t make it, along with his filmography.

Rediff.com featured Kamal’s birthday as part of entertainment history. Yahoo! India and Indiaglitz published birthday messages, heaping praise on Kamal. Behindwoods carried a slideshow of his phases over the years.

[With inputs from Ananth]