Not even 10 of him in his next film Dasavatharam, where he plays a world-record breaking 10 roles, would probably be enough for his obsessed fans.
Getting up, close and personal with superstar Kamal Haasan
This man generates mass hysteria wherever he goes in South India. Not even 10 of him in his next film Dasavatharam, where he plays a world-record breaking 10 roles, would probably be enough for his obsessed fans.
So, ask him what the best thing about being Kamal Haasan is and he says, “I can alter my life, you can’t! You can criticise it, comment on it, but you can’t change it. That is a great advantage to have.”
Tell him he seems to be leading the most exciting life, getting to lead several lives through his movies and he says, “It is only a perception. It’s like saying if you are an airhostess, you get to meet many people, but the big question is, do you really want to? There is a downside to everything. If we take ourselves too seriously, we actors will definitely need a psychiatrist.”
Is there anything else about being an actor that he doesn’t like? “I have been a child actor, so in a way a celebrity since childhood. So now, it is a way of life for me. However, I make sure that I get my privacy. I demand it and sometimes I steal it. It is sometimes taken for granted, but I maintain that my privacy is nobody’s business.”
He doesn’t believe in God and hates being called spiritual. “I prefer to be constantly circulating, questioning myself and my attitude, feeding on ideas, it is a constant job. Spirituality makes you rest, makes you content. I will only settle down when I am in a coffin, under the earth or inside the fire. Till then I will keep myself active and alive,” he says.
It was in Chennai that Jackie Chan announced a desire to work with him. Kamal says, “I just hope he lives up to his promise. It would be wonderful.” Surprising, considering that Kamal has always denounced India’s fascination for the Oscars. “I would still ask why the Oscars be the benchmark for us. It is the West’s perception of what’s good and what’s not. Our ideas and aesthetics are different.”
One would think that if he joined politics he would win hands down. He says, “My politics is very personal like my sex. I am political, but I won’t indulge in present politics. I would make my statement about what I feel and I would cast my vote, that’s about it. I think every actor has a responsibility. One cannot say I am an actor, I will do my job and not care about what’s happening in the country.”
s_shubha@dnaindia.nt
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