"
?? favourite hero ?????", someone asked when our group of friends sat together for a chat, in Special Coaching Center-Barkatpura, Hyderabad), before a class for an EAMCET '95 crash course started. "Kamal Hasan", answered my friend Vikram. "??, ?????, ?????????? ???????? ??????? ???? ???? ??????!" quipped the questioner. This is what I have seen on several occasions later too, among various groups of friends in Hyderabad, Bapatla, or even New Jersey or Louisiana. I lost touch with Vikram after the course, but he too probably relived this scene even after 1995. "Really... how can one actor be a favorite for so many people, across generations?", I wondered back then, and ever since!
"????, ?????????, ??????, ???? ????? ???? ???????????? ??????? ???? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ???????????? !", said my grandmother once, about Kamal Hasan in Saagara Sangamam. "????????? ??? ??? ??????? ????... ???????? ??????!", wondered a friend as he recommended Vichitra Sodarulu movie to me. "?????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ??????", assured another friend about Indrudu-Chandrudu. "????????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????... ????, ????????????? ?????? ??????????? ?????????.", pondered someone. "??? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????????. ????, ??????????, ????? variation ???????????????????", someone else defended Dasavatharam. "?????????? ???????? ???? ????? classy movies ??????? ???????? ????, ?????????? comedies ??? ?????? ????... ??????, ??????????, ...??????? ????? too much ???? ??? ???????...", another went on listing, while someone else added, "??? ?????????...? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???-?????? ????????? ?????? ???????..." and someone else joined in, "?????? ???? ????????? ????... confusing comedies '???????' ???????.. ???????!, ?????????, ?????? X?????? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? ???????.", and another of our lengthy discussions on India's one of the greatest actors has already ensued. ...When such discussions happen, some people might have heard comments like "...make-up gimmicks ???????? ???? performance ?????? ????????? ?????????????... Over-action ????????????...".
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| Kamal in Nayakudu |
I wonder if such people watched the classics Idi Katha Kaadu, Aakali Raajyam, Amavasya Chandrudu, Maro Charitra, Vasantha Kokila, Saagara Sangamam, Naayakudu, Kshatriya Puthrudu, or the more recent Mahanadi, Drohi, Pothuraju, Raghavan, and can I ever stop listing more films where he shows his acting prowess?! We all know his talent that speaks countless volumes, even through his muted expressions such as those in Saagara Sangamam or the full-silent movie Pushpaka Vimaanam. "Can his skills be in dance, writing, direction, and acting be matched by any one person?", I wonder. And then, it's no wonder S.P. Balasubrahmanyam comes to my mind, though his talents are a bit on different side, reminding why Kamal and S.P.B. could gel so well, that S.P.B. entered into film production with Kamal Hasan's Subha Sankalpam, and that we cannot sometimes think of Kamal Hasan without S.P.B.'s voice to go with it - a "combo pack" that completes 20 years since their first acting-dubbing combination in Erra Gulabeelu (1979).
Kamal Hasan started as a child artiste, became a dancer/choreographer, turned a hero, penned stories and screenplays, and produced and directed films. The multi-versed artiste had also rendered more than a handful of songs, some of them even in movies that he didn't act (Dhanush's Dhoolpeta is the only example for Telugu audience), and two of them for female characters
he portrayed on screen, and three songs in Yuvan Shankar Raja's Tamil Indipop album! Some of these include: ???? ???? ??????... (?? ???-?????? ????????), ?????? ?????? ??????... (????? ?????????..!), ?????? ??????? ??????... (???????.. ???????!), ????? ??? ????? ?????... (???????.. ???????!), ?????? ??? ?????? ????... (?????????), ???? ????... (?????? ????), ????? ???? ???... (?????? X????????), ??????? ??????? ???????????... (????????), and ??????? ???????... (????????). (He also penned lyrics but not in Telugu.)
It's a surprise to note that Kamal acted in less than 200 movies in his 50-year acting career (ignoring nearly 10 years that he didn't act between his transition from child artiste to dance direction career to lead actor) and the only a quarter of them have been released in Telugu! Yet, he received Nandi Award for Best Actor thrice and Filmfare Award for Best Actor thrice in 14 straight Telugu films (not counting simultaneous makes) he acted. Starting with Best Child Artiste Award for his very first film, Kamal won the Best Actor Award thrice, thus having won four national awards in all! He won a total of 18 Filmfare Awards in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi, one of them being a Best Story Award (for Viraasat in Hindi).
Kamal Hasan-penned and directed Virumaandi (Pothuraju in Telugu) won the International Award for Best Asian Film at South Korea's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival. His films went to the Oscars seven times! It's sad to note that the Government of India thinks he's worth just the "level one" Padma award, the PadmaSree, which was awarded in 1990!
Kamal was also the first recipient of the Abraham Kovoor National Award for "Humanist Activities and Secular Life" in 2004. It's not incorrect to say that many awards gained respect after they were conferred to Kamal Hasan! In all, Kamal Hasan is said to have won over 170 awards, interestingly a number very near to the total number of films he acted ever! FICCI gave him the Living Legend Award this year, but what award can be a measure of all the talent that's spelt by the name K-A-M-A-L-H-A-S-A-N!?
>>Next Page: Kamal Hasan's Acting Filmography (Telugu)
