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Kamal wills, Kamal does
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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IN CONVERSATION As the world waits for the curtains to go up on ‘Dasavathaaram,’ Kamal Haasan dwells on how the mammoth project took shape.
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A grand spectacle: Dasavathaaram
It’s definitely not a crusade against religion. I don’t thrust my ideologies on the roles I play. Neither am I judgmental,” says Kamal Haasan. Saketharaman (‘Hey! Ram’) Velu Naicker (‘Nayakan’) and Shaktivel Thevar (‘Thevar Magan’) each from a different school of thought exemplify Kamal’s contention. “Similarly, the core of ‘Dasavathaaram’ is also different. God plays a strong role in ‘D.’ And I’ve used religion as a showman should.”
So what’s the core? “The requirement of religion, you can say. But this has nothing to do with the God aspect,” he assures. “As a tool for cultural development it has been excellent. But now the weapon is turning blunt, and it is superstitions that rule the roost. As far as ‘Dasavathaaram’ goes, God will appear in all His glory… and faults! Both sides of the argument will run subcutaneously in the story without impeding the entertainment value in any way,” he smiles enigmatically. So that’s why there’s a scientist in ‘D.’ “He’s our rationalist,” smiles Kamal.
Kindling curiosity
The sheer magnitude of the project and the surmises, arguments and counters that have been part of the film from the time of its launch two years ago, have naturally kindled viewers’ curiosity. “The media has been very kind in helping us keep it under wraps. And the goodwill from my peers has been incredible. ‘Give us any role,’ top actors told me. But it wouldn’t have been fair. Even a person like Jayaprada didn’t ask me what her role involved. Then we have Asin who has shot for nearly 100 days, and Mallika Sherawat.”
A rigorous schedule of 18 hours a day running to 600 days of shoot, and 500 hours spent on the hero’s make-up alone! Kamal simply shrugs it off. “When you do what you believe in, you don’t get tired. I have no holidays because I don’t have any working days, is the axiom I go by. And you don’t wait for time to ripen. Just go ahead and do it! I’m already at least a decade too late in making this attempt.”
How did it all begin? “At this very place where we are sitting now,” he taps on the table. It began as a casual coffee-shop-chat between Kamal and his friends. “We discussed various levels of filmgoers’ expectation and market demands. What if we packaged humour, action and romance in a format never attempted before, we thought,” he says.
It was a kind of SWOT analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, objectives and threats which eventually led Kamal to the story with 10 main characters.
“Michael Westmore, our make-up wizard from the U.S., says that so many diverse roles in a single film have never been attempted by any actor in the world. But we didn’t begin it with records in mind.”
Kamal is also the writer of ‘Dasavathaaram.’ “I’m a reluctant actor,” he confesses. Writing has been a passion from his early days.
Much before the country experienced tsunami, Kamal’s ‘Anbe Sivam’ spoke about it. “I fervently hope the synthetic bio-weapons I talk about in ‘Dasavathaaram’ don’t become a reality,” he sighs. Around 10 different firms have handled the CG of the film. “The number is in tune with the title,” he quips.
Producer Ravichandran and director K.S.Ravikumar complete the diligent triangle that slogged throughout. “Of course, there’s the cameraman [Ravivarman] but even he goes out of the project for a while and returns. A maker with business acumen, Ravichandran has taken it the whole way to the final consumer. And Ravikumar’s tenacity is remarkable. The three of us placed our individual likes and dislikes on the shore and went in to bathe in an egoless sea. It was a smooth swim. The ruptures were minimal,” he guffaws.
Entertainment intact
Kamal’s stand is that the pleasure he gets out of making a film is the same as the joy of a fan who goes to the cinema to watch him. “I haven’t tried to be a maverick as far as the entertainment quotient goes, because frankly I’m bothered only about the film being accepted by my people. When a person walks up to me and says, ‘Whenever I’m sad I watch ‘Michael Madhana Kama Rajan,’ I feel gratified. As for awards I don’t care. If it happens I’ll be honoured, but definitely surprised!” he candidly states.
Strangely number 10 keeps cropping up often during the conversation. “Ten years from now I must watch the film with my daughters and still feel happy about it. Not apologetically say, ‘in those days we could do only this much.’ I refuse to be a captive of Time. Transcending it is more like me.”
“It’s a Lucullan feast we are providing. Taste the truffles for the sheer enjoyment they offer or scratch the surface and find the message beneath.
“The layers are many, because every stratum of my audience is important to me and ‘Dasavathaaram’ aims at satisfying each of them,” smiles Kamal.
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'D' has it all
Thorough homework has been Kamal’s mantra. He has pored over Hindu epics and literature of yore and three-act plays of the West before scripting ‘Dasavathaaram.’ On an info-gathering spree for months, he visited authentic labs and
sought appointments with international scientists to learn about synthetic bio-weapons that he touches upon in ‘D.’ From mythology to ecology and sociology, from humour to action and romance, ‘D’ has it all. “Like you refer to an intelligent person as a man of many parts, ‘Dasavathaaram’ is a film of many parts,” he smiles.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
