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Kamal Haasan (born on 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, dancer, film director, screenwriter, producer, playback singer, lyricist and politician who works primarily in Tamil cinema and has also worked in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Bengali films. His production company, Raaj Kamal Films International, has produced several of his films. Haasan's contributions to film have been praised by his contemporaries in the across the Indian film industry, and he has been recognised as an influence for actors and filmmakers in the Tamil film industry. He has won four National Film Awards and 19 Filmfare Awards. He was awarded the Kalaimamani award in 1984 the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at 15th Mumbai International Film Festival in 2013.Haasan started his career as a child artist in the 1960 Tamil language film Kalathur Kannamma, for which he won the President's Gold Medal. He met director Vaaranam Vijay who is frequently credited with shaping Haasan's acting skills. His breakthrough as a lead actor came in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, directed by K. Balachander, in which he played a rebellious youth who falls in love with an older woman. He won his first National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who cares for a woman who suffers from retrograde amnesia in Moondram Pirai (1983). He was noted for his performances in Mani Ratnam's Nayakan (1987) and S. Shankar's vigilante film Indian (1996) and also won second and third National film award respectively. Since then he has appeared in films including Hey Ram (2000), Virumaandi (2004), Dasavathaaram (2008) in which he played ten roles and Vishwaroopam (2013) which were his own productions. Haasan has acted in over 220 films, and in 2019 he became one of the few actors in India to have completed 60 years working in cinema.
For his humanitarian efforts Haasan received the first Abraham Kovoor National Award in 2004. He was project ambassador for the Hridayaragam 2010 event, which raised funds for an orphanage for HIV/AIDS-affected children. In September 2010, Haasan launched a children's cancer relief fund and gave roses to children with cancer at Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, Chennai. Haasan was nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Mission. On February 21, 2018, Haasan formally launched his political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (lit. People's Justice Centre). The party's flag displays six joined hands in a circle in alternate red and white colours with a white star at its centre in a black background.
Early life and career
Main article: Kamal Haasan filmography
Haasan was born on 7 November 1954, in a Tamil Iyengar family, to D. Srinivasan, who was a lawyer and freedom fighter, and Rajalakshmi, who was a housewife. Haasan was initially named as Parthasarthy. His father later changed his name to Kamal Haasan. His brothers, Charuhasan (born 1930) and Chandrahasan (born 1936), have also acted. Haasan's sister, Nalini (born 1946), is a classical dancer. He received his primary education in Paramakudi before moving to Madras (now Chennai) as his brothers pursued their higher education. Haasan continued his education in Santhome, Madras, and was attracted towards film and fine arts as encouraged by his father.When a physician friend of his mother, visited A. V. Meiyappan (AVM) to treat his wife, she brought Haasan with her. Apparently impressed by his demeanor AVM's son, M. Saravanan, recommended him for their production Kalathur Kannamma.Haasan won the Rashtrapati Award (President's Gold Medal) for his performance in Kalathur Kannamma at age four and starred in five more films as a child. He debuted in the Malayalam film industry with Kannum Karalum (1962). Upon his father's encouragement, he joined a repertory company (T. K. S. Nataka Sabha) headed by T. K. Shanmugam. In the meanwhile, he continued his education at the Hindu Higher Secondary School in Triplicane. His time with the theatre company shaped Haasan's craft and kindled his interest in makeup.
2000–2009
After a two-year hiatus from Indian cinema, Haasan decided against reviving Marudhanayagam. He directed his second film, Hey Ram, a period drama, told in flashback, with a fact-based plot centering on the partition of India and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Haasan produced and choreographed the film, writing its screenplay and lyrics; it was India's submission for the Academy Awards that year. Hey Ram was a box-office failure in India but was successful worldwide. Also in 2000, Haasan appeared in the comedy Thenali as a Sri Lankan Tamilian with PTSD who is under a psychiatrist's care. Thenali, starring Malayalam actor Jayaram, was a box-office success. Haasan's next film was 2001's Aalavandhan, in which he played two roles: For one he had his head shaved and gained ten kilograms. To play the other Army major in Aalavandhan, he went to the NDA for a crash course. The Hindi version was distributed by Shringar Films. Despite pre-release publicity, the film was a commercial failure.After a number of successful comedies including Pammal K. Sambandam and Panchatanthiram and guest appearances, Haasan directed Virumaandi, a film about capital punishment which won the Best Asian Film Award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. He also appeared in Anbe Sivam with Madhavan. Priyadarshan, its original director, left and Sundar C. completed the film. Anbe Sivam tells the story of Nallasivam, portrayed by Haasan as a communist. His performance was praised by critics, with The Hindu saying that he "has once again done Tamil cinema proud".In 2004 Haasan appeared in Vasool Raja MBBS, a remake of Bollywood's Munnabhai MBBS, with Sneha which was a box-office success. The following year, he wrote and starred in the comedy Mumbai Xpress. Released during Tamil New Year, it was a disappointment at the box office despite positive reviews. He appeared Kannada language comedy film Rama Shama Bhama with Ramesh Aravind. In 2006 Haasan's long-delayed project, the stylish police story Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, was a success. Directed by Gautham Menon, the film is about a police officer sent to the US to investigate a series of medical murders. In 2008's Dasavathaaram, he played ten roles; the film was released in a number of languages (including Tamil, Telugu and Hindi) throughout India and overseas. Dasavathaaram, written by Haasan and director K. S. Ravikumar, is one of the first modern science-fiction films made in India. Starring Haasan and Asin Thottumkal, it was the highest-grossing Tamil film (as of 2008[update]) and his performance was critically praised. In Canada, Dasavathaaram was the first Tamil film distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.After Dasavathaaram, Haasan directed a film tentatively titled Marmayogi, which stalled after a year of pre-production. He then produced and starred in Unnaipol Oruvan, a remake of the Bollywood film A Wednesday, where he reprised the role originally played by Naseeruddin Shah with Malayalam actor Mohanlal playing Anupam Kher's role. It was released in Telugu as Eeenadu, with Venkatesh reprising the role played by Kher. Both versions were critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
2010–present
Main article: Controversies related to Vishwaroopam
Haasan collaborated for the fifth time with Ravikumar in Manmadan Ambu, for which he also wrote the screenplay. The story concerns a man who hires a detective to find out if his fiancée is cheating on him. The film was released in December 2010 to mixed reviews, with Behindwoods calling it "an entertainer, but in parts" and Sify saying it "lacks the punch to captivate the audiences".Haasan's next film after Manmadhan Ambu was 2013's Vishwaroopam, released in Hindi as Vishwaroop. It won two National Film Awards (Best Production Design and Best Choreography) at the 60th National Film Awards. Muslim groups in Tamil Nadu demanded the ban of the film and claimed, that the film would hurt Muslim sentiments. Although the film was cleared by Central Board of Film Certification of India, district collectors in the state of Tamil Nadu gave orders to the theatre owners to not show Vishwaroopam, citing law and order problems, however the film released in other states with greater Muslim populations than in Tamil Nadu. A mutual agreement with the Muslims of Tamil Nadu was finally settled on 2 February 2013, when Haasan accepted to mute five scenes. Vishwaroopam was the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2013.In May 2014, he was appointed as the official Indian delegate to the 67th Cannes Film Festival. As of July 2014, he was working on three films: Uthama Villain, Vishwaroopam II, the sequel of Vishwaroopam and Papanasam. After 2 years of Vishwaroopam s release, Uttama Villain was released on 2 May 2015 with exceptional critical reviews and on 3 July 2015, Papanasam a Tamil remake of Malayalam film Drishyam was released with positive reviews and became a huge success followed by the bi-lingual Thoongaa Vanam and Cheekati Rajyam, both doing moderate business.
Sabaash Naidu (transl. bravo Naidu) in Tamil and Telugu, titled Shabhash Kundu (transl. bravo Kundu) in Hindi, is an upcoming Indian spy comedy-adventure film which is written, co-produced and directed by Haasan. He plays the lead role reprising the role of Balram Naidu (a Telugu RAW Officer), a spin off of one of the characters which he played in Dasavathaaram (2008). The film's release date has been delayed owing to Haasan's entry into politics, though he pledged to finish the films he had signed on for.
Off-screen contributions
In addition to acting, Haasan is noted for his involvement in other aspects of filmmaking. He has written many of his films, including Raja Paarvai, Apoorva Sagodharargal, Michael Madhana Kamarajan, Thevar Magan, Mahanadhi, Hey Ram, Aalavandhan, Anbe Sivam, Nala Damayanthi, Virumaandi, Dasavathaaram, Manmadhan Ambu and Vishwaroopam. Haasan's production company (Raaj Kamal Films International) has produced several of his films, and he directed Chachi 420, Hey Ram, Virumaandi and Vishwaroopam. He considered directing full-time if Hey Ram was successful, but changed his mind when the film failed at the box office. In his earlier career, he choreographed for MGR in Naan Yen Pirandhen, Sivaji Ganesan in Savaale Samaali and Jayalalithaa in Anbu Thangai In 2010 Haasan said he wanted to do more directing, since young actors wished to work for him. When he played supporting roles early in his career he wanted to become a technician and joked: "Film makers like K. Balachander told me that I won't be able make much money by being a technician. So the end result is that the star Kamal funds the technician Kamal in pursuing his dreams". Haasan attended workshops for makeup technicians in the US for several years, and trained as a makeup artist under Michael Westmore.Haasan has written songs for his films. He wrote the lyrics for a single in Hey Ram, songs in Virumaandi and Unnaipol Oruvan and the album for Manmadhan Ambu. Haasan's musical work has been well received by his peers in Tamil film. He is also a playback singer, singing in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and English. Hassan also wrote the lyrics for a song about the Coronavirus and released its music video, "Arivum Anbum". The album, composed by Ghibran and directed by Haasan, featured Anirudh Ravichander, Yuvan Shankar Raja and a number of other contemporary performers.
Humanitarian work
Haasan is the first Tamil actor to convert his fan clubs into welfare organisations and is involved in social-service activities through the clubs under the name Kamal Narpani Iyakkam (Kamal Welfare Association). His fan clubs help organise blood- and eye-donation drives, and donate educational materials to students.
Haasan received the first Abraham Kovoor National Award for his humanist activities and secular life in 2004. He was project ambassador for Hridayaragam 2010, which raised funds for an orphanage for HIV/AIDS-affected children. In September 2010 Haasan launched a children's cancer relief fund and gave roses to children with cancer at Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, Chennai. He has pledged his product-endorsement income to social causes. Haasan won ₹ 5 million on Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi in March 2013 and promised that his prize money would be used for Petral Thaan Pillaya, supporting children with HIV.
Haasan was nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Campaign. He chose to clean the Madambakkam lake in Chennai with the Environmentalist Foundation of India's Arun Krishnamurthy on 7 November 2014.
Known for refusing any kind of brand endorsement, Haasan endorsed Pothys for the first time in 2015. His daughter, Shruti has previously endorsed Pothys. In the past, Haasan has stated that should he ever act in commercials, the revenue earned from them would be donated to HIV affected children.
Humanitarian work
Haasan is the first Tamil actor to convert his fan clubs into welfare organisations and is involved in social-service activities through the clubs under the name Kamal Narpani Iyakkam (Kamal Welfare Association). His fan clubs help organise blood- and eye-donation drives, and donate educational materials to students.Haasan received the first Abraham Kovoor National Award for his humanist activities and secular life in 2004. He was project ambassador for Hridayaragam 2010, which raised funds for an orphanage for HIV/AIDS-affected children. In September 2010 Haasan launched a children's cancer relief fund and gave roses to children with cancer at Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, Chennai. He has pledged his product-endorsement income to social causes. Haasan won ₹ 5 million on Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi in March 2013 and promised that his prize money would be used for Petral Thaan Pillaya, supporting children with HIV.
Haasan was nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Swachh Bharat Campaign. He chose to clean the Madambakkam lake in Chennai with the Environmentalist Foundation of India's Arun Krishnamurthy on 7 November 2014.Known for refusing any kind of brand endorsement, Haasan endorsed Pothys for the first time in 2015. His daughter, Shruti has previously endorsed Pothys. In the past, Haasan has stated that should he ever act in commercials, the revenue earned from them would be donated to HIV affected children.
Political career
He formed the Centrism party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), a regional political party in Tamil Nadu. He formally announced the party's formation on 21 February 2018 in Madurai. The party's flag displays six joined hands in a circle in alternate red and white colours with a white star at its centre in a black background. Haasan began his political journey from late President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s residence and his memorial at Rameswaram. His party contested in 37 seats in 2019 Indian general election and lost. Makkal Needhi Maiam's vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha election was 3.72% (in the seats it contested).
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