Actor-filmmaker Kamal Hassan, who is busy promoting his forthcoming Tamil release “Uttama Villain”, has wrestled with so many controversies over the years that he feels they follow him and will continue for the remainder of his career. “Even till last week, we were fighting a case in connection with my film ‘Papanasam’. We know who filed the case, and from where. It’s like trouble and controversies always follow me,” Kamal told IANS.
“I feel I’m always targeted. It has happened in the past too. For instance, people objected the title of my film ‘Mumbai Express’. They said the title wasn’t in Tamil, but what’s the Tamil word for Mumbai? In an earlier case, they didn’t let me name one of my films ‘Sandiyar’, and a few months ago, a film with the same name released. Why didn’t anybody object to it,” he asked.
Kamal’s recent release Tamil spy thriller “Vishwaroopam” was embroiled in controversies after Muslim groups felt they were portrayed in bad light. The same film earned the wrath of the distributors after Kamal commissioned an idea to release the film via DTH platform on the day of theatrical release. Kamal still swears by the DTH idea.
“It’s one of the other branches of film business. We have to do business in all directions,” said Kamal, who also blames the Central Board of Film Certification for curbing freedom of speech.
“If I feel like saying something in the language I want, I have to write and get permission from the Board, like in the British times. But I am an artiste, I have all the rights to say what I want and also question them,” he added. Kamal also has two more Tamil films “Papanasam” and “Vishwaroopam 2” in his kitty. He said even if these films release or get delayed, he will continue working.
“I can’t sit idle. I am always eager to give audiences good projects because they are expecting it from me,” he added. The 60-year-old has already started work on his next Tamil project, a thriller said to be set against the backdrop of Mauritius.
