1. Stole the National Award with one brilliant scene.
Kamal Haasan literally stole the National Award for best acting with his acting brilliance in one scene for the movie Moondram Pirai (1982). Moondram Pirai is an emotional drama directed by Balu Mahendra. The story begins with a young woman (Sridevi) suffering a head injury and leaving her to behave like a child who then gets trapped in a brothel centre. A young school teacher (Kamal Haasan) saves and takes care of her at his house. The young woman doesn’t remember anything about her past after the accident hence Kamal couldn’t find her family. They both develop a sheer pure bond for each other through a course of one year only to the point where she forgets Kamal after she recovered from the head injury. Here is when Kamal pulls out one of his best acting brilliance from his big bag of tricks.The stage is set for a dramatic tear jerker and Kamal snatches the Best Actor award.
2. Did Queen Elizabeth II visit Kamal Haasan’s shooting spot?
Yes, Queen Elizabeth II spent 20 minutes on the sets of Kamal Haasan’s dream project Marudhanayagam in 1997. The filming took place at MGR film city with the presence of the Chief Minister late. Kalaignar. M. Karunanidhi and Sivaji Ganesan. Unfortunately the filming was interrupted later next year due to a financial crunch. Kamal mentioned in an interview that he has filmed 40 mins of the script. He also mentioned in another interview that he might reshoot the film with a different actor. There is a 3-minute long extensive title track video song of the film streaming on YouTube for the fans. The song has garnered 1.5 crore views and it was uploaded on the official YouTube channel of music director Illayaraja on March 4, 2016.
3. Quentin Tarantino gets inspiration from Kamal Haasan.
This may sound hard to believe but this is a fact. Yes, Hollywood’s legendary director Quentin Tarantino A.K.A QT got inspired from Kamal Haasan’s film Aalavandhan (2001). Aalavandhan’s screenplay was written by Kamal Haasan. He opted to go for animated sequences whenever there is a gruesome scene. QT was inspired by that very concept and utilized it in KillBill (2003). Indian Film director Anurag Kashyap confirmed this when he asked Mr. QT directly in the Venice film festival. Tarantino’s movies are known for their violence and gruesomeness. When he was criticized for the same on live television, he just replied, “Because, it’s so much fun.”
4. Most number of Official Oscar entries by an Indian
Kamal Haasan has the record of most number of official Oscar entries for the Best Foreign Language Film category. The first entry came in for the 1985 film Saagar directed by Ramesh Sippy. The second entry was for the film Nayakan and others films are Thevar Magan (1992), Kuruthipunal (1995), Indian (1996), Hey Ram (2000), . Unfortunately none of the films made it to the final nomination. Kamal Haasan also holds the record for most number of filmfare awards. He has won 19 Filmfare Awards in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi languages. As a rare occurrence, Kamal won both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Award for the film Saagar.
5. The Indian Godfather
Yes, We have our very own Godfather who gave us an offer that we definitely cannot refuse. All thanks to the brilliant filmmaker Mani Ratnam for making Nayakan (1987 with Kamal Haasan which is set in Bombay (Mumbai). Kamal played the character Velu Naiker, a vigilante to his people and a gangster in the eyes of the government. This is a coming of age film. The character arc from Sakthi Velu to Velu Naiker is a narrative brilliance and proper execution by Kamal Haasan. Marlon Brando used a denture for the Don Corleone in Godfather and as an inspiration to that Kamal does a similar get up.
6. Few firsts by Kamal Haasan.
Kamal Haasan is known for his innovation and bringing in new technologies to the film industry. Here are the few firsts by Kamal Haasan. Thevar Magan was the first Tamil film to use screenplay software to prepare a script. Mahanadhi (1994) was the first Indian film to use avid film editing software. Kuruthipunal was the first Tamil film to use Dolby Stereo surround technology. Indian is the first Indian film to use prosthetic make-up. Aalavandhan is the first Indian movie to use a motion control rig. Virumandi (2004) is the first Tamil film to use live sound recording. Mumbai Express (2005) was the first Indian film to have digital format implemented. Vishwaroopam (2013) was the first Indian film to utilize the new Auro 3D sound technology.
7. Kamal Haasan predicts the future through his films
He is always known for being ahead of time. In his directorial film Vishwaroopam, Haasan predicted the death of Osama Bin Laden. He submitted the script to the officials before filming it in New York. The officials were shocked to know how he predicted it and coincidentally the American President Barack Obama announced the same in his film. In his film Dasavatharam (2008), he predicted the EBOLA outbreak.
Kamal Hassan is truly a legend!
Nicely written👏
Such a beautiful piece ♥️
Kamal haasan = Proud of Indian cinema... No one can replace him.. True Legend 💪
The dedication to his profession is mesmerizing