Kamal Haasan

Having an all-rounder artist in one's country is something everyone should be proud of. India has its share of such bright and multi talented artistes. One of them is Kamal Haasan, whose contributions to the Indian film industry has been enormous and cannot be explained in brief. He wears many hats such as being a screenwriter, producer, director and a film actor. He was born on 7th November 1954 in Paramakudi, a small town in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district, in a non-film background family. His father was a criminal lawyer and mother an ordinary homemaker. He has four siblings of which he is the youngest. Though he wasn't much focused on his studies in his childhood, he was an enthusiastic learner. However, he wasn't the only one who entered the film industry, but his eldest brother Charuhasan has also worked with him in a few directorial projects and also along with other famous Tamil filmmakers.

Kamal Haasan married Vani Ganapathy in the year 1978. Unfortunately, ten years after their marriage, the couple split up. After the separation, Kamal found support in his co-actress Sarika. In 1986, Shruti Haasan was born and in 1991 her younger sister Akshara Haasan. However in 2002, Kamal Haasan again had to face grief when he separated from Sarika. Now he lives with his former actress Gouthami Tadimalla, whom he had provided immense support during her troublesome times.

Till date Kamal Haasan has acted in several films, both South Indian and Bollywood films. He has also won several awards for his performances, not only as an actor, but also as a director and a filmmaker. Kamal Haasan is listed as one of the few actors in Indian film industry, to accomplish full 50 years in their careers.

He commenced his career in A.V Meyyappa Chettiar's film Kalathur Kannamma. Then, he was just six. The film, which won the President's Gold Medal, also had the famous Tamil star Gemini Ganesan. Since he had a successful debut, he went to act in another five films. Simultaneously he continued his education. However, his real breakthrough came in the early 70s, when he made his first debut role as an adult in Maanavan in 1970. His first noteworthy performance was 'Arangetram' in 1973. He made his Malayalam debut with 'Kanyakumari' in 1974. He won his first Filmfare for 'Apoorva Raangangal' by K.Balachander. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Surprisingly, this was also Rajinikanth's debut film. After that, Kamal Haasan was seen in several films through the 70s, such as 'Manmadha Leelai', 'Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu'. His first Kannada debut was 'Kokila' in the year 1977. He also starred in a Bengali film called 'Kabita'. He also performed the role of a villain, a psycho killer in 'Sigappu Rojakkal'. By the end of the decade, he had won six Filmfare Awards for the Best Actor. By then, he was already a popular actor in the South.

The 1980s saw his entrance in the Bollywood, where he made his debut with 'Ek Duje Ke Liye'. His first debut in production was 'Raja Paarvai', which was made in 1981. Though, it was not a commercial success, it earned the Filmfare Award. One of his significant roles was in 'Moondram Pirai' which won the National Award For Best Actor. The film was remade in Hindi with the name 'Sadma'. He also acted in 'Yeh To Kamaal Ho Gaya' and 'Zara Si Zindagi'. In 1983 he won his second Filmfare Award for the Best Telugu Actor and Nandi Award For Best Actor for his film 'Sagara Sangamam'. In 1985, he was seen in 'Saagar', for which he won, the Filmfare's Best Actor Award. After that, he did numerous movies in the South. His one and only and very well received silent film is 'Pushpak' in 1988 and 'Nayagan' which was nominated for the 1987 Academy Awards.

In the 90s, he entered a new phase of his career, where most of his films would be comedies. He starred in several comedies in the South Indian film industries. However, he also did a couple of serious films, of which one was 'Indian', where he plays the role of an old freedom fighter and a patriot. He was also seen in the film 'Chachi 420' which was a remake of a Tamil film. In the year 2000, he played the role of an extremist young man on the back drop of partition of India, in 'Hey Ram'. In 2001, he acted alongside R Madhavan in 'Anbe Sivam'. In 2004, he was seen in 'Vasool Raja MBBS', which was the remake of Bollywood film 'Munna Bhai M.B.B.S'. However, one of his exceptional and well noted role came with 'Dasavathaaram' where he played ten roles. He was also seen in the Telugu and Malayalam versions of the Bollywood terror thriller 'A Wednesday'.

In 2012, he was seen in 'Vishwaroopam' which was a trilingual spy thriller film and was surrounded by controversies. He will soon make his Hollywood debut, by Barie Osborne.

He is also a known lyricist and has done playback singing for Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Telugu songs. Though he is a born Brahmin, he is an atheist. About his political views, he stated that he is left leaning and of independent political ideology. His humanitarian work is also very well noted. He established the Kamal Narpani Iyakkam, his humanitarian aid organization. It involves providing necessary donations, including educational materials. In 2004, his organization received the Abraham Kovoor National Award. In 2010, he became the ambassador for a project for the welfare of HIV/AIDS inflicted orphans, named Hridayaragam.

His literary contributions are also very well known. His organization ran the magazine 'Mayyam', which was a popular one. His writing on several social issues like drug abuse, child abuse and political conflicts were published by his fans in 'Thedi Theerpom Va'.