South has been national cinema’s strength: Kamal

We deserve a bigger national recognition. For me, national cinema has always rested on South. It is only recently that Bollywood started making films in other languages too

While a lot is riding on ‘Cheekati Rajyam’, superstar Kamal Haasan, who has also pooled in resources for the film along with elder brother Chandrahasan, has deferred its release to November 20 in Telugu. This, he did, to ensure ‘Akhil’, which marks Nagarjuna’s second son Akhil’s debut, opens without any competition at the turnstile. “It is a mutual understanding. Andaru telisina vallae,” he smiles, adding it is in the “best interest of both the films.”

‘Cheekati Rajyam’ is a remake of French hit ‘Sleepless Night’. The film’s tight writing and titanic BO success prompted the actor to acquire the rights. “It will unfold as a fast-paced thriller and will keep you at the edge of your seat. Every character has a back story and a lot of depth,” he insists. “When you see films like ‘First Blood’ or ‘Bourne Supremacy’, you’ll feel the pain of the central character. We’ve tried to portray the same in our film too.”

Made as a Tamil-Telugu bilingual, the film was wrapped up in 60 days flat. Kamal, who plays a Narcotics Control Bureau head Diwakar, torn apart between work and family, reveals that it was possible because of team effort. “Say if I want to complete the film in 60 days, it is not possible. Everybody should share my passion. The team should understand each other and they should know their duties well and prepare accordingly. If you ask for any properties during filming, two problems will surface: one it costs more and two it will take time, resulting in the hindering of day-wise plan. You should chart it out prior.”

Kamal along with director Rajesh M Selva’s inputs restructured the screenplay to make it more Indian. Does he fight his inner demons when he gives away a script that is written by him and is close to his heart? “It depends,” he responds, “It boils down to my state of mind at that point of time. If I need to direct a story that I wrote, I must feel strongly about it. I wanted to call the shots of ‘Cheekati Rajyam’ too but I felt it would be a good debut for Rajesh, who has been with my production house for almost eight years.”

Admittedly, Kamal felt that Rajesh was the right guy on day one itself. “He ensured that shooting atmosphere was conducive and that showed he was well-prepared and groomed,” he shares. “It is not how well one manages during good situations but how he copes up when a collapse is imminent. All of those who stuck with Raaj Kamal Films handled the worst of times. Some people leave when everything around is good and those who stay on will get a break like this.”

For now, Kamal wants to concentrate on making quality work against set deadlines. “I want to do more number of films. Whenever I am directing, I spend three extra months on a film. Presently, I’m focused on doing quality work at a great speed.” In the showbiz for the past 50 years, Kamal believes that “South industry should be honoured more”. “We deserve a bigger national recognition. For me, national cinema has always rested on South. It is only recently that Bollywood started to make films in other languages too.

Otherwise national cinema has always lived on the qualitative productivity that originates from down South, particularly in Chennai, which was the epicenter for film productions. Gemini made films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali with Chennai as the camp. Probably now the activity is more in Hyderabad.” Kamal’s films have always been synonymous with controversies. Be it ‘Vishwaroopam’ or ‘Uttama Villain’, various religious outfits have found objectionable content in his films, causing him and the producers a big dent in their pockets.

Ask him from where he gets the courage to proceed with unconventional content and he responds, “As a matter of fact I know these people don’t have any reasons behind their complaints. And that’s what gives me the courage because I know they’re wrong. They have no information; they are people with political agenda; they don’t have the ticket but they still want to ride; so they take a free ride on any vehicle that is available for them. Bigger the vehicle the better they travel.”

By Nagaraj Goud