Stars of Tamil Cinema(From Left: Surya, Vijay, Kamal, Rajni, Ajit, Vikram)
I dont know.. whenever Tamil Cinema comes into talk, the only figure that crosses people’s mind is Rajnikant. Please!! It is not ILLEGAL to be a Tamilian and NOT watch Rajni’s extra special movies. And these are the people who dont understand that South India has more than ONE different language; and yeah! MADRASI is not a language dude!! And let me not get started on what else we eat other than Idli and Dosa..Gimme a break.
Tamil Cinema has had many famous actors. I group them into commercial and artistic. Commercial has MGR and Rajnikant, while Artistic actors include Sivaji Ganesan and my favourite, Kamal Haasan.
Kamal Haasan in Virumaandi
For Hollywood freaks, if you had been left awestruck(I was one) by the Bourne Series(Bourne Identity etc) which has been adapted from novels of similar names, let me tell you this, Hollywood wasnt the first to have made a movie on that Novel. Instead, it was Kamal’s film Vetri Vizha which was made in 1987 that was an adaptation of Bourne Identity.
Kamal Haasan in Anbe Sivam(with Madhavan)
Kamal is the only actor to have received FOUR national awards and SEVEN of his movies have been sent as India’s Official Entry to the Oscars. Nayagan, in which he portrayed a mumbai based underworld don, won him the national award and was sent as India’s Official Entry to the oscars. It was listed in the All-TIME 100 Greatest Movies.
Kamal Haasan in Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu
Okay! What does award have to do with acting? Awards can be biasing ofcourse!
Kamal Haasan in Dasavatharam
Kamal’s my favourite because he seems to do films because he really LOVES to do it. He prepares himself for every character that he enacts, examples can be, him walking on electric wires, tonsuring and losing 10kgs, spending days with bulls.
    
Kamal Haasan in Virumaandi(the bull fight scene)
What would you choose? Love-for-movies OR life? Kamal selected the former. His movie Virumaandi had for the “first time” in an Indian movie, LIVE scenes of REAL bull fight(famously known as Jalli Kattu in Tamil Nadu). 50 bulls were specially selected and people from two villages were transported to the shooting area and Kamal performed without a stunt double. That movie also won the International Best Asian Film Award
Pushpak has been India’s ONLY classic silent movie. He was the first Indian actor to have played a role of a dwarf(Appu Raja..remember?).
An actor should be assessed based upon the ease with which he can enact different characters. His potential to strive hard to deliver each scene and seek perfection in the same, is another vital point.
If an actor plays different roles, you shouldnt be able to match any of the characters or find any similarity between them. You should be able to admire the talent in the actor.
Kamal is one actor who has been left unnoticed. I feel proud that an Indian actor has way better acting skills than even Hollywood stars.
   
Kamal Haasan in Indian(Hindustani in Hindi) and Avvai Shanmugi(Chachi 420 in Hindi)
   
Kamal Haasan in Dasavatharam
Kamal has acted in numerous movies with multiple roles; be it two roles, three roles, four roles or his latest “world record” TEN roles, honestly, each role(even single roles) has been protrayed by this actor with brilliance leaving critics with absolutely nothing to criticize.
Kamal Haasan in Dasavatharam
Okay! Amitabh fans, you must be searching hard till now to find out anything against Amitabh here in my blog. Amitabh is a great actor…but..but..but.. I surely cant have him at my number one position. In terms of commercial success, I guess Amitabh is way ahead of Kamal Haasan. But if we would have to count like that, Rajinikant soars higher than Amitabh(Rajnikant was paid a whopping 25 Crore for Sivaji). Acting wise, I feel Amitabh is a good actor but is surely not better than Kamal Haasan.
Kamal Haasan in Dasavatharam
Amitabh is mostly termed as an action hero, though lately(in the past decade or so) he has been portraying diversed roles that I liked(Black, Sarkar, Bhoothnath etc). His latest role in Sarkar Raj, according to me is his best role. Kamal..well..is called a versatile actor who can fit into any type of role. Yeah! Its that simple. Has your favourite actor done even 3 of the following roles?
mentally ill villager
psychopathic sexual killer
a school teacher who looks after a mentally retarded girl
drunkard classical dancer
autistic person
amnesiac
Charlie Chaplin
dwarf
woman
george bush
sardar
Kamal Haasan in Anbe Sivam(with Madhavan)
Slowing down? Well.. he hasnt heard about it. Kamal’s next movie is “Marmayogi” that is set in the 7th century and is going to be produced by Walt Disney Pictures..estimated to cost about 120Crores.. whoah!!
Kamal Haasan in Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu
#1 by Pravina - June 26th, 2008 at 11:27
“Amitabh is a great actor…but..but..but.. I surely cant have him at my number one position”
Mike its your view and your choice…its no ones business to mess around with your views…..
I have a simple question. “I liked(Black, Sarkar, Bhoothnath etc). ”
Now this statement is referred to Amitabh in your blog.
If you remember you had also said that “I did not like Amitabh in Black as he has done over acting”
Now does it contradict? or did i get you wrong?
And i think you have no views on Amitabh as you have not seen much movies of him…. same as i have no much views on Kamal Hasan as i have not watched more than 3 movies of him which were awesome.
Kamal Hasan is a great actor…. He is my favourite also… I have nothing against him…. Shall watch all his above mentioned movies if you share his CD’s with me(if you have any!!!).
#2 by Michael Fernando - June 26th, 2008 at 12:44
“I did not like Amitabh in Black as he has done over actingâ€.
The statement’s true. The message wasnt aptly conveyed to you by me. Sorry for that. “I didnt like Amitabh “acting wise” in the first half of the movie. But in the second half he blowed my mind. The same is the case for Sarkar Raj. He was awesome till the part where he cries infront of his dead son’s photo on the wall. That clearly reminds one of his performances in Bhagban or Baabul. And thats where I have a problem with any actor. His performance shouldnt replicate and it shouldnt let us feel, “Wait a minute. Isnt this the same way he acted in that movie or that other movie”. It shouldnt be a copy paste(in software terms).
Kamal Haasan has something new to offer each time. His performances will thrill you. Hence I prefer him to Amitabh.
About the CDs..
. Sure.
#3 by sachin - June 26th, 2008 at 18:12
Very Nice blog , ya i agree with u , kamal hasan is not an actor , he is Artistic actors .offcourse he has better acting skill , but u can’t compaire him with Amitabh , bcoz i think every actor has its own style , own image.
#4 by pankaj - June 26th, 2008 at 18:29
well said..
i like kamalm, rajani, nagarjun,chiranjivi , madhvan and a long list along with hindi movie star.
but i don’t compare them with each other as their fan following have different thinking, most of the times they play in different language.
Reason is simple.
Cinema is a way of connecting with people and show them a story thats it.
So the actor who connects more people for me is a bigger star and a bigger actor.
again definition of acting are different for different people like most critics don’t think that comedy is also acting other wise govinda could be the best actor india ever produced.
well are great in my eyes and simply i don’t find myself suitable to compare them.
#5 by Michael Fernando - June 27th, 2008 at 11:04
@sachin
Thanks for the comment.
@pankaj
Thanks for the comment.
Rightly said, any artist’s capability to connect with people makes him a Bigger Star. But, a bigger star need not be a bigger actor.
And yes, each actor has his own fan following who love his style.
There is more than just a story that Cinema conveys. It is the ability to touch the human mind and the heart also goes with it. Rang De Basanti and other rebel kind films did cause change in our society. But think about this. If Rang De Basanti were to be acted by Govinda(I am not saying Govinda is a bad actor..i am just giving an example) or any such actor, I dont think Rang De Basanti would have come out to change people’s minds.
Similarly, there are movies that are made for pure entertainment(Priyadarshan kind of films). But even they require the actors to act brilliantly so that they do some justice to the character they are protraying. Shiny Ahuja’s character in Bhool Bhulaiya was an important character in the same kind of films in Malayalam and Tamil. But it was totally wasted upon by Shiny’s miserable acting.
#6 by sripad - August 31st, 2008 at 21:06
every one has his own like and dislike. so it is not kamal, rajini, or amitabh. it is a commercial business. as an actor no one will match kamal’s talent.
#7 by s.bera - May 2nd, 2009 at 23:52
I fully agree with you. Kamal Hasan is the greatest actor of the world. I have not seen any actor in the world who can act like kamal hasan in different roles. I want to tribute him from your blog. thank you very much for your comment.
#8 by rajesh - June 22nd, 2009 at 10:43
kamal hasan one of the my best favorite hero i like to much so many actor coming &going but only one standard hero kamal
#9 by TP Balan - September 21st, 2009 at 20:08
I would like to draw your attention to the part of your article where u mentioned that kamal is the only indian actor to have recieved four national awards. This is factually incorect, as Malayalam actor-par-excellence MohanLal, is also the recipient of 4 national awards (2 best actor, 1 best film, 1 honorary mention).
#10 by Michael Fernando - September 21st, 2009 at 20:13
I was talking about acting awards..
#11 by rashmi - January 10th, 2010 at 17:44
There are great actors in indian cinema like Uttam Kumar/Ashok Kumar/Saumitra chatterjee/Nasarudhin shah/Kamalahasan/mammootty/Mohanlal/Tilakan/Nedumudi venu etc etc..they act in Hindi and regional languages..We can not compare actors..and too some actors are beyond camparison, how can we compare the performance of kamal in mahanadi ?? how can we compare the performance of mohanlal in thanmatra ?? my favorate is kamalahasan…he is excellant or simply the best…is there any better than the best…may be one…mohanlal !!
#12 by M. KEERTHIVASAN - January 12th, 2010 at 15:09
Rashmi, your view on kamalhasan is wrong. Because, kamalhasan is acting only for himself. He is selfish idiot. Do not call him the best because he is acting outside the screen, that is way he is considered Ulaga Nayagan, but simply, he is good for nothing fellow. He is doing variety of characters that is true, but he is doing only for the selected set of his followers and well wishers who can understand his acting. But when comes to ordinary layman, he should also understand what kamalhasan is doing. But most of his films are not touching the heart of the common public. But in this case, sivaji ganesan, rajini, balaiah are the best actors for common public also. In short, they are very realistic and not showing camera consiousness in their acting, so that even a child can understand their acting. But kamalhasan is not listening to the common public, and he is doing his acting only to satisfy his family and his close friends. He is just like Dhoni, Shewag who have ugly batting techniques and still getting the applause from the public whereas Ravi Shastri and Manoj Prabhakar, who can bat and bowl better than Shewag, are considered to be selfish players and neglected. Simply, kamalhasan should be analyzed and we have to see each and every frame of kamalhasan, and we can find lot of holes in his acting.
#13 by gomathi sankar - March 8th, 2010 at 22:15
kamalahasan is the roll model of indian films