Kamal Haasan completes 50 years in showbiz

Fans organising big event on Aug 12

In his five-decade-long career he has acted in more than 150 films in different Indian languages, directed movies and won several awards. Kamal Haasan, one of the finest actors of Indian cinema, completes 50 years in showbiz this year and fans are busy preparing to celebrate his remarkable journey.

"Kamal Haasan completes 50 years of his meritorious journey in the film industry. He has acted in the films of all the four South Indian languages and even in Hindi and Bengali films. No other actor in the country has achieved such distinctions in his career and created milestones for himself. Kamal fans all around are planning to celebrate this event in a grand manner," said Prakash, secretary of the Kamal Fans Association in Karnataka.
He says that they are co-ordinating with Kamal's fans in Chennai to organise an event on Aug 12 - the day his first film was released way back in 1960.

Kamal gave his first short in 1959 for the film "Kalaththoor Kannamma" when he was only five years old. Produced by AVM Productions and directed by Bhim Singh, the film was released Aug 12, 1960. While Gemini Ganesan and Savitri played lead roles, Kamal featured as a child artist and had even sung a popular song "Ammavum Neeye Appavum Neeye" in it.

Kamal had won the best child actor National Award for his performance in his debut film.

He also won the best actor national awards for "Moondram Pirai" (1982), "Nayagan" (1987) and "Indian" (1996). In 1988, he won the Best Actor Filmfare Award for "Pushpak", a black comedy that didn't have any dialogue. Apart from that, he has won several honours like Nandi awards and Tamil Nadu state film awards.

He also has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of films submitted by India for the Academy Award in Best Foreign Language Film category.

According to sources, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) is organising a big event to felicitate Kamal. Though the preparations have started, the SIFCC is contemplating have the felicitation first in Chennai and then in other south Indian metros.

Kamal's fans wanted him to release "Unnai Pol Oruvan", a remake of the critically acclaimed Hindi movie "A Wednesday", on Aug 12. But the release has been delayed by post-production work.

Actor-director Ramesh Arvind, who has worked with Kamal in films like "Sathi Leelavathi", "Panchathanthram"and "Mumbai Express" in Tamil and "Rama Shaama Bhaama" in Kannada, says "If there is one multilingual talent in the Indian film industry who truly deserves a big felicitation for completing a golden jubilee in filmdom, it is only Kamal".

"He is an inspiration to generations of artists and directors. He has created his own benchmarks in several segments of filmmaking including acting, writing scripts and direction. He started his career as a child artist in films to become one of the most versatile artists in the world.

"He is a universal hero in every sense of the term. I will be waiting for the big day of this event to personally congratulate him," said Arvind who took up direction on Kamal's advice.

Shruti’s Haasan’s bikini do!

Daughter of iconic actor Kamal Haasan sizzles in her debut film.

The latest star kid on the block Shruti Haasan is all set to dazzle the silver screen with her debut in Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision
Ltd.’s film Luck directed by Soham Shah.

And while there are newbies who shy away from sporting a bikini in their very first film, Shruti seemed to be game for it!

Says the debutant, "When Soham narrated the script, I did not even consider the bikini thing as a big deal it was logical to the premise.

While shooting for it, the weather was very weird that day. It was freezing cold, but apart from that it was like any other scene in the film for me."

Informs the director Soham, "Shruti did work out to get a toned body. She worked more hard to maintain it. We shot the sequence in Cape Town. The temperature was only two degrees. She had to brave the icy weather for the shoot."

The director also mentions, "The scene involves Imran Khan, Ravi Kishaan and Mithun Chakraborthy. Shruti was not at all apprehensive of wearing a two-piece swim wear as she was aware of it from before. The scene is totally justified as Ravi Kishaan's character pins his eyes on her."

The styling is done by the director’s wife, Binal Shah who is a fashion designer. She says, "I bought a plain Bebe bikini that fitted Shruti perfectly. I then embellished it with mother of pearls in shades of green that matched the night pool ambience."

Well, for a debutante, Shruti’s confidence and zeal are quite inspiring, we must say!

Luck is an action adventure film that has been creating waves and arousing lot of anticipation from audiences for its daredevil stunts
and amalgamation of some of the finest actors of Indian Cinema.

Produced by Dhilin Mehta & Directed by Soham Shah, the film marks the debut of Shruti Haasan (Kamal Haasan’s daughter) and stars Sanjay Dutt, Imran Khan, Mithun Chakraborthy, Ravi Kishaan, Chitrashi Rawat and Danny Denzongpa. The soundtrack is composed by Salim Suleiman.

Luck is all set to hit theatres on July 24.