Kamal Haasan: Why would I antagonise a large demography?

Kamal Haasan explained and vented in equal measure when he was recently in the capital to attend the Habitat Film Festival, where Vishwaroop was also screened for viewers. In a discussion with JNU professor Ira Bhaskar, the actor shared his thoughts on world peace, making mainstream cinema address contemporary issues and how he ‘discovered’ Mahatma Gandhi after making Hey Ram.
We make a film that’s palatable for all sections of the society
Despite Vishwaroop getting a CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) certificate in October 2012, the film released only in February because it got mired in controversy and several groups were against the film, stating that it might cause law and order problems. “It’s a silly accusation. The same applies for Uttama Villain (his current film). Anybody who sees Uttama Villain will find that that there is nothing in the film to get upset about. Logically speaking, I’m an entertainer, so why would I antagonize a large demography of my audience by trying to insinuate or insult them? They should think about it. It’s a business. I would like to say that the film is doing well and to be able to say that, I must make it palatable for all sections of society. The film got a certificate from the CBFC easily, but then the state, in response to demands from certain groups, declared that the film was a threat to law and order and decided to stay the release,” he recalled.
Would have lost Rs 60 crores if something had gone wrong
“The government should be strong and bold enough to stand by a voice – our small voice. I think the President of India owes that to me and that’s what I stood by. That’s what gave me the strength to take on anyone, even the government in court, and we won. I’m not going to boast about it and say that we did it, because the next time it could be the other way. I’m too small a man to take a hit of that kind because a good `60 crores would have been lost had things gone wrong,” he said.
Read: Kamal Haasan: Lesser known facts
I had predicted Bin Laden’s death three months before he died
“When the film’s script was complete, we gave it to the US embassy to seek permission to shoot in the USA. I had plans to shoot in the summer, but when nothing happened till March, we decided to shoot in the winter. That’s when I realized why we probably didn’t get permission. There is a sequence in my film about Bin Laden being killed. We submitted the script in February and in May, he was actually killed. I predicted his death uncomfortably early! And so the film was delayed by six months. I was glad that as a writer I could foresee without any looking glass or magic mirror. In a way, as a citizen of the world society, I felt happy that I had my finger right on the pulse,” he shared.
Vishwaroop 2 is already made
“Vishwaroop 2 is not just a sequel, but a prequel as well as a sequel. It tells you why Wasim Ahmad Kashmiri (his character’s name in the film) is what he is. The film ends with a line – ‘it’s still not the end’. But I’m not planning a part 3, so that’s how it ends. I thought that this time I will be clever and give the mantle to another producer, which I now feel is a mistake. We will take over the film and release it because then it will become redundant and all the things that I want to say in the film would have already happened,” he said.
Learnt Kathak from Birju Maharaj for the film
In the film, Haasan played a Kathak dancer and the film opens with him dancing with grace, incorporating steps taught by Pandit Birju Maharaj. “For me, it was only an excuse to be under the tutelage of Birju Maharaj ji. I would have done it in another film, if not this one. I’ve been watching him, admiring him, envying him for 40 years now. So, when we trained for one month, he was surprised and said, ‘How did you catch on to my style so quickly.’ I said, ‘Thank you, but 40 years is a very long time’. I also trained with Gopi Krishna ji for Sagara Sangamam for two-three months. I will never forget that. Both of them are so different, but their kindness astounded me. We respect them, but we do take them for granted,” he told the audience.
Icon bashing is a great sport in every country
“Hey Ram has become a part of my life. Though the protagonist is Saket Ram, somewhere in the subtext you’ll find that Mahatma Gandhi is also the protagonist of the film. Icon-bashing is a great sport in any country. Be it the king or the godfather or the father figure, you like to bash him before you accept him. I’m no exception and fortunately, for me, nobody admonished me, nobody corrected me. Gandhi himself was the butt of some jokes in the movie, and he wasn’t around to defend himself. I rediscovered him on my own without any coercion from any political party. No party can fully own him without feeling guilty,” he opined.
The Western world has to make up its mind about world peace
“This is something we as world citizens will have to understand – that a pebble thrown in a lake will create ripples. We can’t just neglect what’s happening in Palestine or Russia, or even Pakistan or Afghanistan. Soon, it will become our problem and that’s what this film (Vishwaroop) is addressing. It’s a world problem and if you look at where it all started, it goes back to the capital of arms making – America. It’s the highly politicized, highly affluent western countries which will have to make up their minds about world peace, not the Middle East,” he said.
I incorporated a line in Vishwaroop because I’m a fan of Coppola’s writing
Speaking about the opening line of Vishwaroop – ‘I believe in America’ – the same as in The Godfather, Hassan said, “I’m a big fan of Coppola’s writing and the on-screen collaboration of Puzo and Coppola is one of the very best I’ve seen. It is a reference to my favourite film, The Godfather, but my belief in America is a different belief. It’s not an Italian immigrant but an Asian immigrant and it has a lot of ramifications. Wall Street itself is the citadel, not Washington,” he opined.
The film was partly shot in Chennai
When someone asked Haasan about how he recreated Afghanistan for Vishwaroop, he stated that the film was assembled in Chennai. “It was partly shot in Chennai, but we also got backgrounds done digitally, some even from Afghanistan. I had ambitions of (or silly thoughts of) shooting the film there, but then people warned me that you have to use things other than cameras to shoot in that country. I decided otherwise and we shot at certain locations in Jordan, because the helicopter had to be an American helicopter. But we put it all together in Chennai,” he said.
They ban my films in my own country
When someone from the audience asked Haasan whether Vishwaroop was released in Pakistan, he said, “I don’t know. Probably. They ban my films even in my own country. What do you expect?”
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