Kamalahassan

 

Kamalahassan was 69 years old on November 7th 

Remarkably talented he was a budding actor more a dance master during my college days .

Since his niece Nandini hassan was in our college and my senior he used to come to drop her I heard Think I saw him once with red lipstick on lanky and thin .

No one knew he would become the Kamal the superstar the actor dancer charmer singer etc etc .

Incidentally it was malayalam films that made him a hero 

Tired of the Prem Nazir Jayan Madhu combos Kamal was a welcome change with his romantic exuberances .

His prancing around with the likes of Zarina wahab Lakshmi and others with Salil Chowdurys music were a rage .

In Tamil it was K Balachander the ace director who realised Kamals potentials though Kamal was a child actor .

Balachander discovered Rajni too 

It was 16 vayathinnile which made him a commercial film sucess ,though he had acted in so many meaningful films earlier like Arangetram ,Apoorva ragangal by Balachander ,

IV Sasis Sigappu Rojakkal gave him a sophisticated look ,

Later he would do Tik tik tik with Sasi as Director .

Maro charitra was a Telugu romantic tragedy which was later filmed in Hindi  as Ek Duje ke liye 

 and Moonram pirai became Sadma directed by Balu Mahendra .

By then Kamal was acting in so many languages 

He was a multi lingualy talented as he rarely used dubbed voices 

He learnt instruments ,sang for his films, did stunts, learnt magic ,Martial arts ,Make up and prepared so much for every film .

He was the Mr Perfectionist in everything He did like  when he acted as a middle aged lady he was just that and not a cross dresser when he was a dwarf he appeared as one ,later one  realised how much effort and pain he went through

He donned multiple roles in same film 

multiple films with different roles. 

Even after 60 he is still active 

Though he is better off with others films than his own with exception of Rajaparvai .

Sree devi was kamals best heroine I would say .

His foray into politics has been a failure like his family life 

Divorced twice he has two grown girls one of them is a good actress too .

Has Kamal reinvented himself with age ?

 Not much I feel ,looking at the type of pictures he comes out with ,

The Drishyam remake Papanaasam was not bad though a bit Tamilish but his latest Vikram though I haven't seen sounds to be in same genre of Jailor of blood and gore .

Kamal has excellent sense of timing and is very good in comedy ,most good actors are too .

His Michael Madana Kamaraaja ,Manmada leelai ,Sathi leelavati  ,Avai Shanmukhi ,( Chachi 420 in Hindi ) Tenali, pammal sambandam ,panchatantram ,were laugh riots .

He did serious message films like Anbe sivam ,Mahanadi  ,Varumayin niram sigappu .

Of course in Nayakan he brought out a near imitation of Marlon Brando  in Godfather

Kamal couldn't let that oppurtunity go waste .

Thevar magan with the thespian Sivaji Ganesan himself with whom he acted even as a child. 

What plans does the old man has now to show his fans  ?

He could do a Jackie chan type of film Karate kid .

It's time actors of his calibre break away from thier commercial straight jackets and do good films which last for ever like the venerable Sivsji Ganesan had done before he left us .

Kamal , I hope does that, as he had been my favourite actor always