Kamal Haasan  share

Dr. Padma Shri Kamal Haasan was born on 7th November 1954, in Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu. He is the fourth child of Srinivasa Iyengar Rajalakshmi couple. His father was a leading advocate. His two brothers Charu Haasan and Chandra Haasan are also film personalities. He started his acting career at the age of 4. His performance as a child artist in Tamil film Kalathur Kannama was well appreciated by the audience. As a child artist, he has performed with stalwarts like M.G.R, Shivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, etc. He had his schooling till 8th Standard in Hindu High School, Triplicane, Chennai. But his burning desire towards the celluloid world made him to join the famous drama troupe run by T.K.S. brothers. He made his first stage appearance along with eminent Theatre personality T.K. Shanmugam in his drama Appavin Asai and continued to work with them and learnt the nuances of acting. He worked as an Assistant dance master to well known choreographer Thangappan. His first major lead role was in Malayalam film Kanyakumaril in 1974.
This multi-dimensional actor, who is also a trained classical dancer, had choreographed a handful of films and portrayed small roles in the early 70s before he was actually spotted by K. Balachander, who is known for introducing several established names of the Tamil film industry. He did supporting roles in films like Arangetram, Sollathan Ninaikiraen, etc. He got his first big break in K. Balachander\'s offbeat movie Apoorva Ragangal that eventually turned out to be a milestone in his career. His portrayal of a rebellious hero, who gets involved into an age-gap relationship, created controversies among the public, in spite of it the film was a big hit. In the mid 70’s he frequently collaborated with director K.Balachander in mega hit films like Avargal, Moondru Mudichu, Manmadha Leelai, Oru Oodhappu Kan Simttukirathu, etc. His major break through in the earlier 80’s was in 16 Vayathinilae through director Bharathiraja, where he played the role of a mentally ill villager. His role of a psychopathic sexual killer in the thriller film Sigappu Rojakkal won the hearts of the audience. His next musical comedy hit Ninaithalae Inikkum turned this actor into a popular film personality. He exhibited a different performance in the thriller film Neeya.
He paired with his popular on screen pair actress Sridevi in an action hero drama Guru. His excellent portrayal of a Tamil fanatic in the super hit film Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu, is a pleasure to watch. He started his own production company called Raajkamal Internationals. His 100th film Raja Paarvai, where he played the role of a blind session violinist, was his first home production film. He made his debut Hindi film Ek Duje Ke Liye with actress Rathi Agnihothri. The film was the remake of his previous Telugu film Maro Charithtra. His role of an obsessive lover, who meets a fatal death with his lover, drew the attention of the audience all over India. His performance in the popular melody “Hum Bane Tum Bane Ek Duje Ke Liye…” is still one of the marvelous romantic performances of this evergreen star. He continued with his successful Bollywood films like Sanam Teri Kasam, Abhay, etc. His performance in the Hindi film Saagar, a story line of both men pinning for a woman, was critically well acclaimed by the audience. He acted along with top stars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth in mega hit film Giraftar. He acted with his close friend Rajinikanth in many of his films like Avargal, Moondru Mudichu, 16 Vayathinilae, Ninaithalae Inikum, Illamai Unjaladugirathu, etc. Together they have exhibited their best performances in many of Tamil super hit films.
In the mid- 80’s he gave mind blowing performances in two huge hits of Tollywood film Industry - Sagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam. His performance as a drunkard classical dancer in Sagara Sangamam proved his acting prowess to versatile roles. Especially his classical dance number “Nathavinothangal Nadana Santhoshangal…” with actress Jayapradha proves he is one of the ultimate Supremes of Indian film Industry. His different dual role of one as a corrupt mayor, in the hit Telugu film Indrudu Chandrudu won applause from the audience. His performance of an autistic person with actress Raadhika in Swathi Muthyam fetched him many awards. He gave a remarkable performance in the speechless classic, dark humor film Pushpak, which created a huge mass all over the world. His role of a satire of Hollywood actor Charlie Chaplin in the romantic hit film Punnagai Mannan proved his capabilities to enroll in any type of characters. He displayed a perfect role of an amnesiac patient in Tamil film Vetri Vizha. Apart from all of his previous films, he gave a complete new dimension in one of the top 100 movies of Indian Cinema, Nayagan, where he played the role of a under world don, who can ever forget his excellent histrionics. He tried his triple role in Apoorva Sagotharargal, one being a dwarf, - it is the first time that an actor had attempted to play such a role. In 1990, he went one step further and indulged into four different roles as quadruplets in comedy packed film Michael Madana Kamarajan.
His performance in films like Guna and Thevar Magan are a mile stone in his film career. His Kannada films Kokila, Thappida Thala, Benkiyalli Arabida Hoovu, Rama Shama Bama, etc exhibit his excellent proficiency in other languages. In the late 90’s, he broke out from the normal romantic hero mould to explore some gritty and unconventional roles. His comedy hero subject film Sathi Leelavathi, a story based on the Hollywood film She – Devil, proved a hilarious hit. He played dual roles of an Indian freedom fighter and also an untruthful son in the Mega hit film Indian. He continued his experiment in portraying the role of a Tamil brahmin woman in comedy film Avvai Shanmugh. He made his directorial debut in Hindi film Chachi 420 and continued his marvelous direction in legendary film Hey Raam – a story line centering on India’s partition and assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Nobody would deny that he is a real “Technical Wizard” and applies the latest techniques in each of his films. He continued with successful comedy film Thenali, where he displays a perfect Sinhalese dialect, which stands a real testimony for this golden man’s Mind Blowing performance. He gave remarkable performance in films like Panchathanthiram, Pammal.K.Sambandam,, Virumaandi, Vasool Raja M.B.B.S., Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, etc which depicts his versatility. He reprised ten roles in the most expensive film of Indian history- Dasavatharam. He has reached such unparalleled heights, which is difficult for any one to emulate him.
He had two marriages (Vani Ganpati 1978 - 1988) and with actress (Sarika 1988 – 2002 with two daughters Shruthi and Aksharaa, Unfortunately both of them ended in a divorce. His amazing acting skill, his adroitness in Bharatanatyam and an in-born inclination to explore newer vistas, prompted him to venture out of Tamil films and work in all the major Indian languages - Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Hindi. Kamal’s portrayal of varying roles with envying perfection such as a rebellious hero in Apoorva Ragangal, an aging mafia don in Nayakan, a desperate lover in Moondram Pirai and a grand old lady in Avvai Shanmukhi, a hapless family man who lost and re-discovers his family in a metropolis in Mahanadhi, is nothing but a testimony to the actor’s urge for newness. Apart from the flexibility of body movements, his ability to instantly change his facial expressions coupled with perfect timing of dialogue delivery in his own inimitable style makes him a unique actor. He is multilingual, self-professed atheist, and follower of E .V. Ramasami Naicker. He has carved a niche for himself in the field of mass entertainment through his immense acting talent, his directorial ability, his high production values and his eagerness and penchant for experiments, which cannot be put into any watertight compartment. The actor is regarded as a living legend and an institution in himself because of his acting prowess, his lifetime achievements and invaluable contribution to the world of cinema. He is compared to the great actor Chevaliyer Shivaji Ganesan, Jack Nicholson, and Tom hanks. Seven of his movies have been sent as India\'s official entry to the Oscars- The only actor to achieve this feat in the sub-continent.Kamal became the Lon Chancey of Tamil cinema.
Apart from his film career, he is the project ambassador for Hridaya Ragam, an organization which raises fund to treat children with congenital heart diseases. He is also the Ambassador of AIDS awareness program. He has donated all his organs to the Madras Medical College. He also renders service to the public through his fan association Kamal Haasan Narpani Iyyakam including blood donation, eye donation, etc. This multifaceted legend is a Producer, Writer, Director, Play back Singer, Choreographer, etc which naturally implies he is a Mini film industry by himself. In 2005, he launched a new business unit called Raj Kamal Audio in a drive to corporate all his film commitments.