Legendary actor Kamal Haasan celebrates his 71st birthday today. Here’s looking back at his unpublished interview taken by this writer in 2001.
Throwback: When Kamal Haasan said he would love to do ALL his roles all over again
Are there performances which you feel have gone wrong?
Oh several. Given a chance, I’d love to do all my roles all over again. But it’s a tedious process both for my audience and me, especially for me (laughs).
Which performances have given you maximum satisfaction?
See, once the script falls into place, it’s very satisfying to play a character. In Ramesh Sippy’s Saagar, there were certain chunks that were very interesting to play. But when you look back at performances, you are not willing to forgive those blemishes that erupt over a period of time.
So, you are more conscious of your mistakes than your achievements?
Yes, but when a script falls into place, everything jells. This was the case with Sagar Sangamam. It was a simple script with all the correct ingredients. My character was so precise and so well etched. This was one of those rare scripts that just happen. Its success cannot be credited to any one person. Even my performance cannot be credited only to me. The little bangs created a whole little universe in Sagar Sangamam. Some clever scriptwriter would say the script and performances are flawed. But there’s a basic harmony in the script that I’m happy about. People say the same is true of Nayakan also.
And what do you say?
I’d say both Sagar Sangamam and Nayakan are equally satisfying. Another film that I’d like to re-assess in a year is my Hey Ram. I’d still like to say it had more shades to it than immediately discernible. Hey Ram was like the mysterious smile of a lizard. Nobody knows what its smile means, unless you’re from the lizard family. In fact, in Hey Ram, there’s a dialogue to this effect when Abhyankar is asked if it’s justice for a wolf to take away a child. To this Abhyankar replies, “To know the justice of the wolf, I’ll have to live the life of a wolf.” Somewhere I feel my performance in Hey Ram is mature within the given parameters of Indian cinema.
Do your characters affect you deeply?
I think your dreams make your day. That’s the whole purpose of a dream. It either relieves you of your last day’s disturbances or it prepares you for the next day. There’s an auto-control inside one’s head that spills over from dream to waking hours.
Modesty apart, a lot of younger actors and actresses idolize you. Do you see yourself as a role model?
No. I’ve picked up a lot of things from senior actors. But I don’t see myself as being capable of giving something to my juniors. But I guess they do pick up my gimmicks, techniques and modus operandi. If your method of operation is public and it’s accepted then you’re accepted as a role-model. I may be wrong and they may be wrong. But it doesn’t matter. My success makes me a perfect as role model. I may not always be right in my performances. I know I go wrong many times. I don’t always perform by instinct. I sometimes invent logic (laughs).
You’ve been quoted as expressing approval for Biwi No. 1, which was the remake of your Sathi Leelavathi
I am very careful about what I say on remakes. Otherwise people take my words as insults or they reinterpret my words to be compliments.
So much for your reputation as a scene-hogger. When you are in a film, they expect you to help out in every way possible?
Not all of them. There are certain directors who are friends. They come and discuss matters whenever they want. Others avoid my contribution in every other way, except as an actor. It shows in their performances. Ramesh Sippy and I became such close friends during Saagar that I’d go on the sets and say there isn’t enough fish in the waters of the fishing village. So, he would say, bring some more fish and put it in. Directors listen to me only when they are convinced that I’m right. But I don’t contribute all the time. There are units where I keep to myself. In film like Geraftaar, where there are big bulldozers running after you, what do you say?
Why did you do a film like Geraftaar?
That’s part of my job. I am an actor open to all challenges. Even now I’m open to Hindi offers as long as they have their scripts ready. According to them, that is my first unkind precondition. Even when I do get scripts in Hindi, they are very vague.
But these days, Hindi filmmakers have hardbound scripts with them
They probably do. Actually, I got a script for Sanam Teri Kasam. I had a lovely friend in director Narinder Bedi. Since I asked him for a script, he gave me a mock-script (laughs). I did two films for Barkha Roy. Karishma was done as a goodwill gesture after Sanam Teri Kasam. They had booked me to a Hindi film much before the release of Ek Duuje Ke Liye. I don’t know why they had so much trust in me. The Roys were nice people. Even Mr Raj Kumar Kohli signed me for Raj Tilak before my first Hindi film was released. I didn’t know Mr Kohli. But I had seen him at film festivals. Anyone who watches films at festivals so studiously automatically wins my admiration.
How do you like Amitabh Bachchan in Kaun Banega Crorepati?
He’s doing an excellent job. All his Doon school good manner, all the suaveness, that’s part of his personality, has come out so well. If I ever wrote a script for him, the character would be like the person he is on Crorepati. My envy for him as an actor or vice versa doesn’t matter. We’ll both turn to ashes one day. What matters right now is he’s perfect as the host on Crorepati. I have always found his conduct to be exceptional. It comes from your childhood. You cannot acquire that kind of suaveness after 20. If I wanted to be as genteel as him, I should have started working on it long time back.
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