Kamal Haasan - Greatest Actor in the History of Indian Cinema

Kamal Haasan (b. November 7 1954, Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India) - Indian actor, producer, screenwriter, director, voice singer and poet who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Winner of numerous awards, including 4 National Film Awards, Filmfare Award for Best Actor, 17 Filmfare Awards South. Awarded with government Padma Shri awards (1990) and Padma Bhushan (2014). Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (2016).

Biography

Kamal Haasan was born November 7, 1954 in a family of Tamil Brahmins in Paramakudi district Ramanathapuram state of Tamil Nadu. His father D. Srinivasan, a lawyer by profession, was a freedom fighter. The actor has two older brothers - Charuhasan (b. 1930) and Chandrahasan (b. 1936), both lawyers, and sister Nalini (b. 1946), a dancer. Charuhasan has been acting in films since 1980. Kamal Hasan was married three times, has two daughters: Shruti and Akshara.

He first appeared on the screens at the age of 6. At the age of 13 he dropped out of school and enrolled in a theater troupe. Kamal Hasan's entire acting life was spent at the Madras (now Chennai) film studios. After a seven-year hiatus, he returned to cinema as an assistant choreographer under the guidance of the experienced choreographer Thangkappan. During this time, he played cameo roles in several films. Then he worked as an assistant director. He played his first full-fledged role in the film Arangetram. Also played the role of the antagonist in the film "Sollathaan Ninaikkiren" (1973). In 1974, Kamal debuted in film in Malayalam "Kanyakumari", by which he received the first award in his career Filmfare Awards South. In Tamil cinema, a breakthrough for him was K. Balachander's film Apoorva Raagangal, where he played a rebellious young man who falls in love with a mature woman. The film earned him his second Filmfare Award. After the successful Hindi film "Ek Duuje Ke Liye" (1981), he became an all-India star. In 1983, he received his first National Film Award for his role in "Moondram Pirai".

In 1996 two films with his participation were released: "Indian" and "Avvai Shanmughi", in both he played a double role and both were commercial success. It was decided to re-shoot the last of them in Hindi, in which Kamal Hassan decided to try himself as a director. Released in 1997, "Chachi 420" as well as the original was a commercial success. In the same year, he began work on a biographical film about Mohammed Yusuf Khan, Marudhanayagam, which was never filmed to the end. Only 45 minutes of film and a trailer were completed, but since the film was the most expensive project in Indian cinema at the time, it was delayed due to financial problems.

In 2008, "Dasavathaaram", the first modern science fiction film, was released, in which he played ten roles and wrote the script himself. The film was a commercial success. In 2010, the film "Unnaipol Oruvan" was released, which is a remake of the Bollywood A Wednesday. Mohanlal played the role of the policeman in the Tamil version, and Ventakesh in the Telugu version of Eeenadu. Both were commercial success in 2013, the bilingual film "Vishwaroopam" was released, the film was a commercial success.

Beginnings Career

Kamal Haasan was born on November 7, 1954 into a Hindu family, the son of D. Srinivasan, a lawyer, and Rajalakshmi, a housewife. His brother, Charuhasan, has also acted in films in India. Kamal's sister, Nalini (born 1946), is a classical dancer.

He received his primary education in the town of Paramakudi before moving to Madras (now Chennai) while his brothers pursued their higher education. Kamal continued his education in Santhome, Madras, and was drawn to film and fine arts thanks to the recommendation of his father. Legendary director and producer Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar met Kamal by chance and invited him to join the cast of his production Kalathur Kannamma in 1960 when he was just a six-year-old boy. His performance in this film earned him the Rashtrapati Award.

After a seven-year break from film, Kamal returned to the industry as a dance assistant to the dance choreographer Thankappan. During this time, Kamal made brief appearances in a few films, including some uncredited roles. His first credited appearance was in the 1970 film "Maanavan", in which he can be seen in a dance sequence. He then went on to help Thankappan in films such as "Annai Velankani" (1971) and "Kasi Yathirai" (1973). In the first one he had a supporting role and worked as an assistant director.

Recognition

His first full-blown role was in K. Balachander's Tamil film "Arangetram" (1973). Balachander cast him as the antagonist in his production "Sollathaan Ninaikkiren" (1973). Kamal went on to do supporting roles in such films as Gumasthavin Magal, Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, and Naan Avanillai, all from 1974. The same year he played his first leading role in the Malabar-language film "Kanyakumari", for which he won his first Filmfare Award.

He later met director Vaaranam Vijay, who is frequently credited with shaping Kamal's acting skills. His breakthrough as a leading actor came in the 1975 drama "Apoorva Raagangal", directed by K. Balachander, in which he played a rebellious young man who falls in love with an older woman. For his character, Kamal learned to play the mridangam. His performance in the film earned him his second Filmfare Award. He won his first National Film Award for his portrayal of an innocent teacher caring for a child with amnesia in "Moondram Pirai" (1983). He was noted for his performances in Mani Ratnam's "Nayagan" (1987) and in "Indian" (1996) by S. Shankar, in which he played double roles of father and son. Since then he has appeared in numerous films, including "Hey Ram" (2000), "Virumaandi" (2004) and "Vishwaroopam" (2013) which were his own productions, and "Dasavathaaram" (2008) in which he played ten different roles.