Uttama Villain: Kamal’s Gurudakshina

“KB sir wrote 36 screenplays for me whereas I wrote only one for him,” said Kamal Haasan speaking at a promotional event of his latest ‘Uttama Villain’ in Hyderabad on Thursday. Balachander acted as Kamal’s guru in the film

Actor Kamal Haasan wore his trademark yellow tee as he dropped by Hyderabad on Thursday to promote his upcoming film ‘Uttama Villain’, the telugu rights of which were acquired by C Kalyan. He was accompanied by the film’s director Ramesh Aravind.

Calling it “a good film that will also work commercially”, Kamal said he would like to tell the audience that there would be “no bloody fights or somersaults in the film”. “But somersaults will happen within you as you watch the film,” quipped Haasan who wrote story and screenplay for the film.

The presence of bigwigs like K Balachander and K Viswanath is a value addition to the film. And for the actor, the film is all the more special as it is the last film of KB sir who is “his guru and father figure”. “I spent more time with him than I did with my father. I joined him when I was 16 and I worked with him till he lived. He wrote 36 screenplays for me and in return I could give only one,” shared the seasoned actor who plays Balachander’s disciple in the flick.

The actor recalled how the acclaimed south maker refused to star in the film asking ‘What if I die’. “I told him that he had given me talent enough to make changes to the script accordingly and I would make use of whatever I had of him,” he said. “If he wouldn’t star in it, I told him I wouldn’t do the film at all,” he added. He further said that the Telugu soundtrack launch of the film will take place on March 28 in Hyderabad.Kamal was also at his witty best as he took questions from the media.

Excerpts from the brief interaction:

What’s the secret for your looking so young even today? You look 30!

Yes. That’s the truth! Who said I am not 30?

You have written the story and screenplay for the film. Why didn’t you direct it as well?

Have you seen my look in the film (referring to the dancer avatar)? Do you think it would have been possible for me to dress like that and manage things? Moreover it took two hours for my makeup and that would have made it really tough.

Any reason for selecting the particular theme in the film?

It’s simple. I am a dancer and I don’t want to do the same kind of dance in every film of mine. So I decided to explore this.

You generally learn something new for every film you do. What’s that in this film?

Not just for every film. I learn something new every day. I have never slept with the feeling that I know everything.

Why are you still struggling to release your films even though you are a star?

Even if you are a big pehelwan, you have to chew, swallow and digest the food, right?