6 dimensions of the 60 year old Kamal Haasan!

We are not going for 'Kaleidoscope' just for the alliterative effect it has with Kollywood and Kamal. We are going for it because one look at Kamal's filmography can tell you that, in the turn of months and years, Kamal has been able to give films of varied genres just like a Kaleidoscope would give colourful patterns of visuals when turned. Cases can be presented from different decades - In the 80s, a flamboyant Robinhood Guru gave way to the seething socialist Rangan in Varumayin Niram Sigappu who transitions wonderfully into the vibrant Velu Bhai in Nayagan. Turn the k-scope to the 90s - the patterns that emerge include a 4-flavoured concoction of quadruplets who give way to a mentally unstable Guna characterised by pentothal induced 'penaathal'. Stay no longer there as the next turn gives you the local flavour of Michael Corleone in Sakthivel Thevar and one turn later, you automatically empathise with the responsible & hapless Krishnaswamy of Mahanadhi. The scope, after many a turn of interesting visuals, has three in the queue today - those that are likely to reveal the formative years of Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri, the real faces behind a reel-hero & the power of deception uncovered through the wily plots of a cinephile.

Kamal Haasan's penchant for World Cinema is not quite unpopular. The star himself has spoken of his times in the 70s where he was the very few among the cinema lovers who would look forward to catching the single shows of films like Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries & Federico Fellini's 8 & a half! Talk of an actor being ahead of his times. To this day, he keenly follows world cinema and his recent interview to the Hindu where he speaks of his desire to make a film like Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is testament to this fact. Which other actor from here talks of Terrence & Tree of Life?! He has brought to our industry a number of efficient & effective technologies and practices discovered in the West. The introduction of Dolby Surround Sound with Kuruthipunal, that of Auro 3D with Vishwaroopam, the buzz around his choice of 'Red Eye' camera for the still-in-womb Marmayogi, the introduction of Motion Control Camera to Indian Cinema through the visuals that seamlessly move between Nandhu & Vijay in Aalavandhaan, the idea of experimenting a new model by taking Vishwaroopam Direct to Home in a populous country where the relevance of DTH is huge are samples of evidence for his cause. On the other hand, There are also opinions of Kamal plagiarising films from the West. There are true cases few and far between but for the most part, those opinions can at best be treated 'ill-informed', especially when the plagiarism preachers bring in Rashomon as a case against Virumaandi, Mrs.Doubtfire against Avvai Shanmughi, Planes Trains & Automobiles against Anbe Sivam etc. I wish they rise above the hate to appreciate how he transformed Dustin Hoffman's Dorothy to the indigenous Shanmugi Maami or how he adapted The Godfather to suit the nativity in Thevar Magan. All said and done, these misrepresented accusations weigh as a feather against ferrous rod when placed on a weighing balance against the ideas he has brought in by embracing and learning from World Cinema.

How many of the present day popular cast and crew started with Kamal Hassan, who nurtured their abilities and brought it forth with his movies? Well, there ought to be a separate article for that, but truth be told, Vadivelu, who defined a generation with his comedy, got a sumptous slice of a character role Esakki in Kamal Haasan's Thevar Magan. This, after he had played a comedian in Singaravelan. We all know the peaks that Vadivelu scaled ever since! Among other notable mentions are actors Delhi Ganesh, Naasar, who had noteworthy roles in his movies, and have gone on to become legends of their own in their space. Pasupathy deserves a special mention here for, his 'Kothaala Thevan' in Virumaandi is something that will stay etched for time to come. That portrayal of his transformed his career and took him to astounding heights with calls for character roles and meaty ones too. Kamal dared to played the lead role opposite a talented comedy actress in Kovai Sarala in Sathi Leelavathi. He gave a character of prominence to little known comedian Vaiyapuri in his Mumbai Express! Although an outspoken fan of Maestro Ilayaraja, Kamal Haasan has had an avid ear to music and technologies. He has given a good break to a number of music directors, with M. Ghibran scoring a triple for all present movies which Kamal is playing the lead.

Call it a co-incidence or an ESP; how many of the films which Kamal Haasan has acted in, have happened in real life? From the move of the unemployed to Delhi & Mumbai in search of jobs in Varumayin Niram Sigappu, the unemployment of the educated concept in Sathya to the deadly Ebola in Dasavatharam; from the tsunami reference in Anbe Sivam to chit fund fraud in 'Mahanadhi' and the list keeps growing. The fag end of the 1980s saw severe unemployment crisis plaguing our country and lots of youth driven into the oblivion. This was exactly what was depicted in Sathya when Sathyamoorthy, who is an educated unemployed, has to play a henchman to a politico in order to sustain his needs and that of his family. If that doesn't say enough, then who can forget Mahanadhi? The travails of a family hit by the chit fund fraud orchestrated by his partner puts the entire family disillusioned and drives them apart. In bringing out such concepts, Kamal Haasan has successfully transcended an entertainment valued industry into one that takes a good look at societal problems too. Who can forget his Anbe Sivam or the communist values it preached. In a more popular sense, the recent humanocidal virus that is threatening us is the Ebola virus. Now if one goes back to Dasavatharam, it can be seen that the plot of the movie deals with a deadly bio-weapon in the form of a virus which can spread through the air. Take that for a coincidence and swoosh, we are now staring at a deadly virus for which we know not what the cure is. A number of his films carry a case of human emotions in deep-rooted yet subtle forms & make us relate to. Sample the case of the innocence of the young suicide-bombing Jihadi in Vishwaroopam who finds his pleasure on a swing-ride hours before the holy death he has been brain-washed to face for years. In that sense, Kamal has been an enigma in terms of pressing and presenting emotional baggage through the modicum of films.

The heading of this topic should ring some bells with the recent activity of Kamal Haasan in social welfare activities. He created a trend when he channelised his fame and his fan club by renaming them as Kamal Narpani Iyakkam(Kamal Welfare Association), inspiring many more celebrities to follow suit. A month ago, Kamal Haasan being one of the first list of celebrities who was invited by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate and spread the word on Swacch Bharat mission. This time two decades ago, didn't we all sing 'Sutram Enbadhu Namakku' from Nammavar?This was no flash in the pan, as Kamal Haasan is known for his contribution to socially responsible activities through his 'Narpani Iyakkam', which collectively takes to mass blood donation camps and eye donation drives as we talk to commemorate this legend's birthday. He has received national and international recognition for his humanitarian efforts involving donating educational materials, awareness campaigns for HIV/AIDS and Cancer. He donates his income from commercial endorsements completely to social welfare causes.

Art and controversies always go hand in glove! Without the controversies, art ceases to impress. Kamal Haasan, being a forthright and outspoken person that he is, speaks through his movies and in most cases has had to suffer with the public and critiques coming down heavily on him. His Hey Ram caused furore in North India even before its release. Not even word from the Mahatma's living kin could avert the controversy it created that in spite of making a supreme quality movie, Kamal had to stare at huge losses. His allegiance to atheism & playing around with religious sentiments have always been a focal point of discussion. Through his movies, he takes sarcastic digs at gods and beliefs & though Kamal is known much for speaking this language, it does not go well with religious groups. Undesirably though, This act of his has, a number of times, crossed the proverbial Lakshman Rekha. In fact, a song he penned for Manmadhan Ambu got the knife of the CBFC when they found the lyrics offensive. The troubles he had to court en route to the release of Vishwaroopam is another familiar story. Kamal Haasan is a university of talent, a multi-faceted one at that who is capable of making artistic movies. If you try to restrict him by clipping his wings, we might not pay heed to the artist in him. In a sense, it is wrong to curtail the freedom of thoughts of an artist and Kamal Haasan has been at the receiving end many a times, though he is never cowed down by these much.