Man Of Faces:
Ahead of the release of Vishwaroopam 2, actor filmmaker producer Kamal Haasan opens up about the film and why it will be an exciting watch for the audience
As Kollywood awaits the release of one of the biggest films this year, Vishwaroopam 2 , on August 10, the captain of the ship Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan walks in nonchalantly and greets us for an interaction. Wasting no time, he started talking about Vishwaroopam 2 . “The film is unfortunately split into two. But, it is one complete story. Even if the second part releases first, you will still understand the story. Vishwaroopam 2 is more like a standalone book,” he begins the conversation. He also adds that the team hasn’t leaned on the glory of the first part.
“For instance, the trilogy of God father could be considered as standalone classics. In fact, revisiting the first part will be more exciting after watching V2 ,” he smiles. Prod Kamal on the reason for releasing the film in two parts, he says, “I didn’t stop writing. During the 90s, I attended a training session on ‘Page-aminute’ format in Hollywood. It means if you have a page, you have a minute’s screen time. It is like writing notes and formatting the dialogues. The workshop gave me clarity and I started to reduce the length of my films.”
In our previous interview, he had said that cinema here is run by people, who hardly know the business and technical nuances. He reiterates it and explains to us in detail, “Screenwriters do not have the liberty because the market is driven by ‘non-film students’ or people who are uneducated in cinema. The audience does not fall into that category because they are only interested in cinema.
A screenwriter has to be properly trained; it is a complicated process. An industry which was once run by people who had a wider understanding of cinema is now run by money bags. They have watered down the script, music and have made the audience believe that movies are only about six fights, four songs and family sentiments. The audience does not even need popcorn to watch a film! But somehow they brought that connect. The connect should be between the movie and the audience and not the popcorn and the audience,” he laughs.
Coming back to Vishwaroopam 2 , Kamal Haasan tells us that while his character of Major Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri is shown as a patriotic Indian Muslim, the second part of the franchise will give a better picture of the character’s past as well. “The film explains the reason for Wisam being patriotic. There is more to Andrea and Pooja’s characters as well. There will be a better understanding of all the characters in V2 ,” he adds. We were also shown the making videos and special screening of the film’s promos, which have some hard-hitting interpersonal drama.
“We always have this habit of bringing in religion with sentiment and vice-versa. Do you remember Jaishankar’s films in which he played a cowboy riding a horse? Pinnaa di eruma maadu laam odum (Buffaloes used to run behind him). Instead of showcasing foreign festivals in the films, we had Mariyamman thiruvizha,” he says.
V2 , which is over five years in the making, is one of the long-awaited films in the history of Tamil cinema. However, the expectation for the film has been increasing with each passing day.
“Thanks to the business dynamics. It’s going to be a jackpot for the producer. When they said the first part was obliterated because of the controversy, I disagreed. People came in to watch the aesthetic part of the film. V2 will attract the audience for its script,” he says. Vishwaroopam 2 will also be the first release for Kamal after entering into active politics.
Commenting on whether people will be receptive to the film, he says, “The film was penned way before I entered active politics. That doesn’t mean that there will be any politically-charged dialogues in it. It, in fact, talks about a broader politics — geopolitics. That is why I call myself politiculturist.” Will Vishwaroopam 2 be Kamal Haasan’s swansong as an actor? “I would have loved it to be that way. But then I needed to make money for my party as well, so I cannot comment on it at this moment. As my political responsibilities have increased, my acting career might take a backseat. However, I will complete the projects I have committed to,” he says.
Kamal Haasan’s movies are known for characters like Avinashi ( Michael Madhana Kama rajan ) played by Nagesh, Noorjahan ( Kaadhala Kaadhala ) played by SN Lakshmi and Thaiyamma played by Manorama in Singaravelan. Ask him if he misses those legendary actors in his films, he says, “I miss them terribly. But there are many new talents.
People asked what will happen after Sivaji Ganesan’s demise. But we did carry forward his legacy. Someday, I will be replaced by another actor. But I want to know how old the actor is because I don’t want him to be an aged person. Any 13 or a 14-year-old guy standing on the side smirking at the way I act will be the Brando of Tamil cinema in future,” he concludes.
