The importance of being Kamal Haasan

Excerpts from the interview: 
What keeps Kamal Haasan going inspite of 180 films and continuous laurels?
The desire to discover something new every time. I feel I am yet to discover the method of consistently doing things right. Again, it depends on what you mean by success. For Sunil Shetty, it could be body-building. But then flexing the muscles just once is not enough. You should be able to maintain it through constant exercise. For me, work is an exercise. And you never stop exercising if you want to remain fit.

You said you are constantly looking for something new.
Yes, I should be able to surprise my audience. Predictablity can spell your doom. I am constantly trying to run away from monotony. Because I am scared of playing into the hands of mimicry artistes. Once a mimicry artiste takes you over, you are finished. I don’t mind their mimicking my vernacular accent, but not my style. It’s easy to be complacent. Like they say Govinda is a very good dancer. Then they add , you dance well too. After that what? I don’t want to be branded. It’s been a difficult battle. But I have been successful so far. My hope is Marlon Brando. He took chances. And with great success. He played contrasting characters with ease. On the other hand, Dustin Hoffman, who has been doing different things, hasn’t become an icon. He made Graduate, then played The Midnight Cowboy. He could have played Al Pacino’s role in The Godfather, but that didn’t happen. Being a maverick has its dangers. It can prevent you from becoming an icon. The greatest of thinkers in the world have, inevitably, settled to a trademark situation.

Most of the roles you have played in recent times have led to the impression that you are too preoccupied with showcasing your talent.
I have made no bones about that. I do make films to give full play to my talent. As I said, I am constantly trying to beat monotony, to discover new things. That's one reason why I became a producer. We are in a money-driven system, a financial society. They will allow you to be a maverick at your own expense.

You had almost given up on the Hindi film industry, what made you give it another shot?
As a company we are growing. And we have to aim at a bigger market.

What went wrong with Shantanu?
My judgement.

When did you realise this?
After the first five days. In the initial stages I wasn’t concentrating much on what was happening on the sets because of my heavy make-up, which was very uncomfortable. After the fifth day, the cinematographer, Jehangir Chowdhary, whom Shantanu had brought, came and told me that things weren’t going right. The scenes being shot lacked rhythm. Even Amrishji began feeling that things weren’t going right. That’s when I sat down with my team and saw the rushes. The results were disappointing. When I told Shantanu so, he said, “Don’t worry, we can rectify things, I will shoot the way you want me to”. That was not the answer I expected from him. I thought he would say, “I know what I am doing... that’s my style”. If he had said that I’d have allowed him to go on. But his self-doubt made me apprehensive.

Didn’t you check his credentials before signing him on for a major project like yours?
Two friends of mine in the media had recommended him to me strongly. They had praised him to the skies. I saw his ad films. They were very impressive. I asked him if he could sustain the three minutes to three hours. He said, yes. I guess that was my undoing. Complacency let me down completely. I should have known better than to get carried away by a smart demeanour and glib talk. They are no substitute for ability. The entire episode taught me a lesson. You can’t give in to smart talk just as you can’t ignore an unassuming man who can’t express himself fluently. Both are dangerous. It’s not that I hadn’t taken risks earlier. But they had worked. I had signed on Vishal Bhardwaj on the recommendation of Ashaji (Asha Bhosle) long before Maachis. And I had no cause for concern.

Shantanu was said to have shot a great length of the film.
After those initial five days, I got into the act and started directing the film myself, though I didn’t want to. I had planned to launch myself as a director in a big way with Marudanaayagam. But it was no big deal. I knew the film inside out. I had done the Tamil version, after all. After hanging around the sets for 10 more days, one day he just disappeared.

The entire experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

Problems had begun even before Chachi 420 went on the floor. Cheques for 2 crore issued by the Mumbai financier, whom Shantanu had introduced, bounced twice. It led to a major financial bind and we had to halt all our other projects, including Ladies Only. Only my reputation in the industry saw me through.

What’s happening to Ladies Only?
It will be released soon after Chachi 420. We thought, it would make better sense to release Chachi... first because of the hype it had generated. We are venturing into the bigger Hindi markets so we wanted to play safe.

Since you are so meticulous about the way you work on your roles, won’t the burden of being a director affect your performance?
No. I don’t think so. I should have taken to directing films long ago. I had come into the industry to be a director.

I had started out as a choreographer, then I wrote a couple of screenplays. Direction should have been the next step. Instead I became an actor. K Balachander who gave me a break as an actor, kept goading me on . He kept telling me that I had a great future as an actor. Finally, after 180 films I am realising my dream. Of course, I have been actively involved in filmmaking since the time we launched our production company, Raj Kamal. I have written the script for all the twelve films we have produced so far, 10 of them turned out to be silver jubilee hits. The other two broke even and are making profits now.

With your experience and the stature you have attained,
is it easy to give yourself in the hands of other directors?
It depends on the script and who the director is. When a film doesn’t need fine-tuning, like for instance Indian, I didn’t have much to do. Shanker was in full control. But films like Nayagan and Appu Raja needed greater involvement.

Once I commit myself to a film I become responsible for it. Filmmaking is not one man’s job. It’s not the job of superstars. It's got to be well-orchestrated teamwork. Otherwise it will take ten years to make a film. Only a Mehboob Khan can make a film like that.

I like to participate in the complete process of making a film. I remember, during Ek Duuje Ke Liye, I choreographed the dance numbers with Raghu. Raghu and I had started out together as choreographers. And even today I interact with him if he is choreographing for a film of mine. During Nayakan I used to help Mani’s assistants in working out the details.

You haven’t made a film with Mani Ratnam in a long time?
Yeah. And we are not likely to make one in the near future. Our family has split and he is on the other side of the fence now. (Mani, incidentally, is married to Kamal’s niece, Suhasini).

Marudanaayagam is being hyped as the most expensive film planned in this country.
Why are you taking such a big risk?
Because I am paying for it myself. In any case, I don’t think its too big a risk, because I have full faith in my director (laughs).

The driving force is the desire for recognition. I revel in recognition. I always refer to myself as a limelight moth. I like people to recognise what I recognise in myself. I get thrilled even when a poem of mine gets published in a local magazine.

As an actor, I still have a long way to go. I haven’t yet risen upto my own expectations. Sometimes, I feel, I am lucky to be called a good actor. When I look back on some of my performances, I am embarrassed. I saw Saagar the other day and wondered how I could have given such a bad performance. I couldn’t stand it. Though at that time everybody, including me, thought I had done a good job. I had even won awards for that performance. I told Ramesh Sippy if he agreed to remake the film, I would better my performance.

When you look back what do you feel went wrong with your first adventure in Mumbai?
I was upset by the work pattern. Everything was so laidback. There is no point in blaming the stars. And it is too much of a generalisation to say at all the discipline is in Madras. It’s humbug. I feel the Mumbai industry needs to rethink on the myths it has perpetuated. Stars are not permanent, the industry is. V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor and Mehboob Khan have passed away, but the industry has survived. It did make a difference, but then life moves on. New order takes over. Why pamper the stars, boost them to the skies and then pull them down, make them a scapegoat for the ills of the industry? If filmmakers have their priorities right, everything will fall into place.

After Ek Duuje Ke Liye, which was a showcase for both Balachander and me to display our talents, we hit a low. We could have done anything but Zara Si Zindagi. But Balachander insisted on an off-beat story. And the producer insisted on wrapping up the film in Madras. So it acquired a Madrasi flavour. And that laid the film low. After Saagar, I got busy with my own productions, and I didn’t have the kind of time one needed to work in Mumbai.

What's your next target?
My aim is to create a facility to produce films continuously and reach them to the people. on the lines of the studio system in Hollywood. It can only happen through individual enterprise, like Dr Varghese’s Amul industry. Taj Mahal wasn’t a corporate enterprise. It was built by an individual addict. A democratic process will not achieve such results. My brother and partner Chandra Haasan builds the castles I dream of. We want to go step by step. Two years ago we wanted to set up a company, but decided against it. Why start it in a hurry and sell it off. “Don’t give the child cortisone, let it grow naturally!” has been my dictum. We want to eventually set up an exhibition system, but we’ll go about it step by step.

(...contd)