Actor Kamal Haasan’s much-awaited film, Uttama Villain , in which he plays the role of a ‘superstar’, is ready for release in the second week of April.
The actor, on Tuesday, clarified it is not a satire on the Tamil film industry. “Many have asked if this is a film about my life. There is a bit of me in every film I have done. It is the story of an actor,” he said.
Directed by actor Ramesh Arvind, Uttama Villain is said to be a film within a film; one, a social drama involving a film actor, and the other, a musical set in another period. The common thread between these two stories is K. Balachander, said Kamal. “I had been asking him to act in my film for a long time. I managed to convince him at last. He plays the role of a director called Margadarisi,” the actor said.
Answering questions about the charges of plagiarism in Uttama Villain , the actor declared he is not an ‘original man’. “All my films take inspiration from films I have seen or even from those I have heard about,” he said.
Reacting to news reports about the similarities between Uttama Villain posters that feature Kamal as a Theyyam artiste and pictures shot by a French photographer, the actor retorted, “Theyyam has existed even before the French began speaking French.”
Kamal is reluctant to divulge much, but insists the film features some of the best talents. “It is not a full-length comedy. I can tell you what the film is not about: it doesn’t have the hero performing unreasonable and unrealistic stunts,” he said.
Speaking of the decreasing rate of success in the Tamil film industry, Kamal said it could have not just an effect on those dependant on the industry, but a social impact as well.
“The industry has been doing a big favour to society: it has helped in the survival of the Tamil language,” he said.
When asked if distributors (who scuttled the release of Vishwaroopam on direct-to-home platforms), against whom he had filed a case with the Competition Commission of India, were trying to hinder Uttama Villain’s launch, the actor said he hoped the film would have a smooth release.
Kamal also said distributors demanding compensation for films that bomb at the box office, as in the case of Rajinikanth’s Lingaa , sets a bad precedent.
With three films — Uttama Villain , Vishwaroopam II and Papanasam — almost complete, it looks like Kamal has moved on to his next, set to be possibly filmed in Mauritius.
On why there is very little gap between the releases and delay in the release of Vishwaroopam’s sequel, he said, “I don’t understand the reasons for it. The question has to be posed to the film’s producer, Aascar Ravichandran.”
Weeks before the release of his latest, Uttama Villain ,
the actor counters plagiarism charges and more
