Kamal Haasan is one of the greatest actors in the Indian Film industry, particularly in the South Indian filmdom. He is a multi-faceted actor best known for his experimental roles, innovative ideas, perfectionism and above all, his diverse talent in the areas of acting and dance. He holds the record of bagging the maximum number of Filmfare and national awards in the Indian film industry- totalling above 150. Also, it is noteworthy that seven of his films had been nominated for the Oscars.

Kamal Haasan was born in November,1954 in the state of Tamil Nadu. He showed a keen interest in dance and cinema from childhood. He started his filming career as a child artiste in Kalathur Kanamma, a Tamil film which won him the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. He later went on to act in almost all the South Indian languages including Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. He also worked as a director, producer, choreographer and script writer. Furthermore, he lent his voice as a playback singer for movies like Puddu Pettai (Tamil, 2006), Sathi Leelavathi (Tamil, 1995) and Mumbai Express (Tamil, 2005). Some of the more interesting films in which Kamal Haasan rendered a laudable performance are as follows:

Apporva Raagangal (Tamil, 1975): This film is Kamal Haasan’s  first major film that did well at the box-office. It was later remade into Hindi as 'Ek Naya Paheli.' The film basically deals with the relationships between people having wide age variations. It has won the Silver Lotus Award for the Best Regional Film and also won a Filmfare award for Kamal Hasan.

Avargal (Tamil, 1977): In this film, Kamal Haasan acts as a ventriloquist, in silent love with a divorced woman. It was later remade into Telugu as 'Idi katha Kadu'.

Apoorva Sagodharargal (Tamil, 1989) This picture, later dubbed into Kannada, Telugu and Hindi, was also a huge success. In this film, Kamal Haasan plays three roles, including that of the father- a police inspector- at the beginning of the film. The uniqueness of this film is that one of roles is that of a dwarf which Kamal accomplished with superb ingenuity.

Pushpaq Vimanam(Kannada, 1988): This is a total silent movie with no dialogues, yet was able to capture the interest of the audience. It got  Kamal Haasan the FilmFare Best Kannada Actor Award.

Michael MadanaKama Rajan (Tamil, 1991): In this movie, which was later dubbed into Telugu, Kamal Haasan  plays four different roles with ease and perfection. He distinguished the four roles by his dialect and also by appearance.

Guna (Kannada,1991):  This film is about a mentally retarded person, played by Kamal Haasan,  who stays in a mental asylum for treatment and later falls in love with a rich girl. Kamal Haasan bagged the Best Actor Award for his splendid performance in the film. The picture was later dubbed into Telugu.

Avvai Shanmughi(Tamil, 1996): This film has Kamal Haasan don a female attire to play the part of  Laxmi Godbole  in the latter half of the film. The picture was remade in Hindi as Chachi 420 and in Telugu as Bhamane Satyabhamane.  Another remarkable feature of this film is that Kamal Haasan, lent his voice to a solo sung by the ‘lady’.

Indian(Tamil,1996): This is a film where Kamal Haasan portrays a dual role, one is a politician and other a common broker. His performance in the film won him the National Best Actor award and Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. The film was even nominated for the Best foreign Language film category in the Academy Awards. The picture was later released in Telugu as 'Bharateeyudu' and Hindi as 'Hindustani'.

Dasavatharam (Tamil, 2000): This brilliant film saw Kamal Haasan portraying ten different roles-ranging from a traditional priest to the President of United States. He, in fact, created a world record by donning as many as ten distinct roles.

Hey Ram (Tamil, 2000): This film, which was simultaneously released in Hindi with the same name, deals with religious factionalism and basically takes place in the pre-independence era. Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor award for his performance in the film.

Noted Telugu films in which Kamal Haasan starred

Maro Charitram (1978, later remade into Hindi as Ek Duje Keliye )  :  This is a romantic film where Kamal Hassan plays the hero, a Brahmin boy, who falls in love with a lower-caste girl. The film ends tragically; this reminds us of some of the evergreen love-stories of the past.

Akali Rajyam (1981) Here,  Kamal Haasan portrays the part of an unemployed youth who comes to Delhi in search of a job, but detests the hypocrisy, corruption and deceit in the society.

Sagara Sangamam(1983): In this classical film, Kamal Haasan plays the role of a passionate classical dancer who aspires to become big, but ends up as a drunkard.

Oka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu (1985): A comical film where Kamal Haasan does a dual role; one of that of a college-boy named Murali Krishna and the other an employed youth named Hari Krishna.

Swathi Muthyam (1985, later remade into Hindi): In this film, Kamal Haasan plays the role of an innocent and simple village lad who always strives for the good of others.

Indrudu Chandrudu (1989, later remade in Tamil and Hindi): Kamal Haasan plays a double role, one as the City’s Mayor, and the other as an educated youth, who

eventually takes the place of the Mayor after the latter’s death.

Subha Sankalpam (1995, later dubbed into Tamil): This film sees Kamal Haasan portray the role of a fisherman, who belongs to the lot who does folk dances.

He even stepped into Bollywood and played a lead role in some hit films like Akhri Sangram(1984), Saagar(1985), Dekha Pyar Tumharaa(1985) etc.

Kamal Haasan’s only Bengali film is 'Kabita' released in 1977 which is a remake of his Tamil film Aval Oru Thodarkathai (the Telugu version is 'Anthuleni Katha' and the Kannada version is 'Bankiyalli Aralidu Hoovu').

As Director and Producer

The films which Kamal Haasan directed apart from playing the role of protagonist, are Virumandi(Tamil), Avvai Shanmughi(Tamil) and Hey Ram(Tamil, Hindi).

The first film which was produced by Kamal Haasan was Raja Paarvai in 1981, in which he also played the role of a violinist. This was followed by the film Kadamai Kanniyam Kattupaadu in 1987 in which he does a guest role also.

There are more than a 100 films covering all the major languages that can be credited to Kamal Haasan. He is undoubtedly one of the supreme actors that the film industry has ever witnessed. His commitment and dedication to the world of cinema has also won him the Padma Shree from the Indian Government in 1990. Also, Kamal Haasan has recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2009-2010 in Chennai.

• Written by Sridevi.
• In category Celebrities.
• 14 years ago.

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