In 2009, Kamal Haasan presented a screenwriting course at IIT-Madras and wanted to start a full-fledged film school. It was during that time that a conversation with him sowed the seeds of my book, Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey.
This book, aimed at an international audience, focuses on the context within which a film is made. We want to encourage film study scholars. This is absent in the Indian context.
People think box-office results are the only context for a film. In fact, it sometimes becomes an obsession. But as a film study scholar, I am more interested in the why, for I believe that film students need to understand the atmosphere in which a certain work is done. A filmmaker also needs to be conscious of this, otherwise you will end up being an emotionally-driven director wanting to express your emotions alone without understanding what is happening around you.
I love Kamal Haasan’s films because he sets context in his work. From the 260-odd films of the actor, I delved on 40 films, based on chronology and the themes in his roles.
Understanding Freudian philosophy and the context of Adam and Eve in the Bible is needed to appreciate a film like Moondram Pirai. Now, did Kamal or Balu Mahendra actually think about this while making the film? Maybe not. Artistes don’t have to think of it in direct ways.They dip into a large pot of knowledge, join in together and give it to the audiences. As a film study scholar, I try to deconstruct work in the way I evidentially see a film.
Kamal is capable of wearing multiple hats: as an actor, filmmaker, poet, singer. Yet, he keeps his work sensible and coherent. I don’t think there is any other actor in the world who is capable of such muti-tasking. He is also among the few who takes pains to explain his characters, like in Vishwaroopam, probably the only film in the world that makes a Muslim person a hero.
What are you reading currently? I am reading Caste Pride by Manoj Mitta.
One book you recommend everyone reads: Orientalism by Edward Said.
(As told to Srinivasa Ramanujam)
Published – January 17, 2025 05:47 pm IST