Here’s a brilliant new poem from Kamal, that appears as the first one in a collection titled “Eezham — Mounathin Vali“. Thanks to Envazhi for bringing it to us!

காக்க ஒரு கனக (AK) 47

நோக்கவும் தாக்கவும் ஒரு நொடி நேரம்

தோற்கவும் அதே கண நேரம்தான்

ஈயம் துளைத்துக் கசிந்து சிவந்த

காயம் தொட்டுக் கையை நனைத்து

விண்ணே தெரிய மண்ணில் சாய்ந்தேன்

முன் காக்க மறந்த அமைதியைக் காத்து.

மாட்டுத் தோலில் தாய்மண் அறைபட

பூட்ஸுக் கால்களால் கடந்தனர் பகைவர்.

விட்ட இடத்தில் கதையைத் துவங்கச்

சட்டென இன்னொரு குழந்தை பிறக்கும்

அதுவரை பொறுத்திரு தாயே, தமிழே

உதிரம் வடியும் கவிதை படித்து…

[With inputs from Ananth]

Kamal has kept his word on organizing a screenwriting workshop in South India, and in style! Rajkamal Films International will sponsor the Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop which will be held, in association with IIT-Madras, from 29 May to 3 June.

Applications for the event will be accepted till May 5. So, if you didn’t hear about this till now, you have the weekend to make it in time. For more details, refer to the official Web-sites (1 | 2).

In addition to some writers from the North, the workshop will also feature noted French screenwriter Jean Claude Carriere (more about him in a separate post) via video-conference.

This news was widely featured in various media, including The Hindu (one of the co-sponsors), Rediff.com, Behindwoods, IndiaGlitz, ChennaiOnline, KollywoodToday.com, Yahoo, Dinathanthi and Maalai Malar.

One of the organizers happens to be an active member of the Kamal Haasan Orkut community!

[With inputs from Ananth]

It’s almost two months since anything official emerged from Kamal. There has been confusion involving Marmayogi, Thalaivan Irukkindraan and many other rumoured ventures. We sought help from reliable sources and here’s what they came up with. Take it with a pinch of salt, as they themselves don’t have a clear picture.

• Kamal has indeed bought the remake rights of A Wednesday, as rumoured. Kamal will do this movie quickly before starting on other ventures.
• Marmayogi will resume after this.
• There will be a break in between to accommodate 19th Step where Kamal is playing an important role.

Sounds reasonable? Read on for what’s been going on in the media.

A couple of Web-sites including ChennaiOnline.com reported that Kamal and Prakashraj were in the race for acquiring A Wednesday. While some felt that both could do the movie together, Mammootty is the rumoured co-star. While Mammootty sounds like a relishing prospect, the media coming up with his name after rumours of Mohanlal for Thalaivan Irukkindraan doesn’t seem like a co-incidence.

19th Step , a 50 million-dollar project, has been confirmed by Asin on several occassions. Kamal is said to be playing the role of a veteran Kalaripayattu expert. Check out news from The Hindu, Screen and Chitramala.

Another minor rumour was about Kamal doing a guest role in Maganae En Marumaganae directed by TP Gajendran. The makers supposedly want him to deliver a message on organ donation. We all know that he personally has gone all the way and donated his body for medical research and study.

While fans have mixed views of these ventures, they are more interested in Kamal making a formal announcement soon and kick-starting work on a new project.

[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]

Kamal was the star attraction at the Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC) held in Mumbai, on November 13 and 14. In fact, it seemed like he was the lone person from the bottom half of India! Kamal promised to hold a similar conference in South India in March.

Organized by Film Television Institute of India (FTII) based in Pune, the conference featured leading names like Govind Nihalani, Amol Palekar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Rajkumar Hirani and Abbas Tyrewala. Kamal chaired one of the 10 sessions, titled “The uniqueness of the Indian script”. A first-hand report on PassionForCinema blog throws light on his charisma and sense of humour at the event. Ananda Vikatan has reported that students thronged him, especially praising him for Dasavathaaram.

Sify.com has put up a video of Kamal answering questions from reporters. Eros Entertainment too has a video news snippet on YouTube — Kamal is featured at the start and the end. Read a formal report from The Hindu. Check out photos at Bollywood Movie News Desi Blog, MastiOne.com and HamaraPhotos.

[Updated 21 Dec 2008: Included video from Sify.com]

[With inputs from Ananth]

As we gear up to remember Kamal a little more on his birthday of November 7 comes this news. Kamal has sent out a press release asking fans to refrain from celebrating his birthday on account of the sufferings of Tamils in the neighbouring country of Srilanka.

If you enjoy the below message from Kamal, check out the even better version, if you know Tamil.

[With inputs from Ananth]

As blogged earlier, Kamal participated in the fast organized by the Tamil actors’ association (Nadigar Sangam) to protest against the military attacks on Tamils in Srilanka. In his speech, Kamal was as mature as ever and displaying world view. He put across his views crisply.

Read reports from Sify.com, News Today, Behindwoods (1 | 2), ChennaiOnline.com, The Times of India, Dinamalar, Dinathanthi, Webdunia, TamilCinema.com and Maalaisudar. Check out photos from Sify.com, Behindwoods, KollywoodToday.com and IndiaGlitz. The latter has videos too, including that of Kamal’s speech.

[With extensive inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Srilankan Tamils are suffering under the onslaught of the Srilankan army and government. The politically-inclined Tamil film industry has geared up to protest against it. Similar to the Cauvery protests a few years ago, there has been much internal conflicts and confusion. Finally, the actors are set to stage a fast on November 1 in Chennai. Read reports from Behindwoods, Thatstamil, Dinathanthi and Dinamalar.

Kamal and Rajni are likely to participate. However, it is said that there will be no speeches this time (OneIndia). One would recall what happened at the last protest, for the Hogenakkal issue. Here’s more from Sify.com and IndiaGlitz.

The Srilankan Tamil problem was highlighted on the passing in Punnagai Mannan (1986), starring Kamal and directed by K Balachander, his mentor. There is also a rumour doing the rounds that Kamal once planned a full-fledged movie on the issue but was dissuaded from going ahead.

[With inputs from Ananth]

As part of ongoing social service activities through his fans’ association, Kamal distributed ceiling fans to orphanages and old age homes in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This function was also arranged to coincide with the upcoming 50th day of Dasavathaaram.

Check out the report and more photos at Behindwoods and IndiaGlitz.

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]

Kamal joined fellow industrymen for a fast for the Cauvery-Hogenakkal issue. Among rhetoric and angry speeches, Kamal shone with his restrained and sensible approach. Thatstamil has full details. IndiaGlitz has a report featuring audio of Kamal’s speech and as usual, a wide array of photos. There is a video of the full speech too; but you need to have patience to wade through a lot of preceding trash. The Hindu too carried a report.

Kamal arrived a little late, possibly from out of town. The earlier report that he came from USA seems to be a rumour.

[With inputs from Ananth]

[Picture courtesy: BehindWoods]