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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
But then this is one actor who doesn't shy away from a challenge, the latest being his ten avatars for his upcoming Tamil movie, Dasavathaaram.
Each role required enormous work and dedication, with make-up taking as much as four hours to apply every day. Kamal is rumoured to be playing US President George Bush, Balaraman, a Brahmin, an Afghan, a Lankan Tamil, an old lady, a doctor, a police officer, a Chinese and a Punjabi singer. Whew!
On this note, we take a look at some of the actor's memorable multiple acts.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
Much has been said and written about this classic movie directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, starring Haasan in three dynamically different roles.
As the murdered father Sedhupathy he was properly aggressive, twirling his moustache with gusto. As the normal half of the twins, Raja, he was up to his usual antics. But it was his transformation as the slightly neurotic other half, Appu, that shocked everyone who saw him.
To pass off as a midget, Kamal had to walk on his knees, a torturous technique which involved getting his legs tied up behind his back.
Some facial expressions brought the character to life, one of them was baring his teeth a fraction more than normal.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
Scripted by Kamal Haasan himself, this Telugu super-hit, Indrudu Chandrudu (the Tamil version was Indran Chandran) saw Kamal in two roles -- that of a corrupt mayor who is murdered and tossed into cold storage by his so-called allies, and a look-alike who escaped from a mental asylum, and is forced to take the dead mayor's place.
Again, while playing the part of the stand-in was easy for him, the mayor-role offered him plenty of scope to prove his acting prowess. As a pot-bellied rotund individual with a raspy voice, undeniably older looks and a brain that wandered from evil schemes to desperation, Kamal made the role work.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
Avvai Shanmughi saw Kamal Haasan reprising the role of Robin Williams in the Hollywood super-hit Mrs Doubtfire.
Like always, the veteran Tamil actor didn't disappoint. Putting on make-up that reportedly took five hours each day, Kamal donned the role of a senior Brahmin lady named Avvai Shanmughi, assuming charge of his daughter, now in the custody of his estranged wife (Meena).
Indeed, during production, reports floated around that actors were often fooled by the elderly lady sitting in a corner on the sets, never once suspecting that it could be Kamal.
Directed by K S Ravikumar, the movie was remade as Chachi 420 in Hindi.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
In director Shankar's Indian, Kamal played the corrupt son Chandra Bose as well as the strict freedom-fighter father, Senapathy.
From the youthfulness of Chandra Bose, Kamal effortlessly transformed into an old man who still had the tricks of ancient varmakkalai up his sleeve.
Everything, from the wrinkles around his eyes, to his seemingly infirm hands was perfection. His voice modulation added to the spectacular effect. It was not surprising when Kamal won the National Award for his efforts.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
'An experiment with truth' was the tagline of this movie, and Kamal Haasan, playing different roles, made sure he had an enchanting story to present.
The movie showed Kamal as a dying Saket Ram who reminisces about his life as a young archeologist (Kamal again) who lived a life of luxury during the British Raj.
While Hey Ram's heavy themes and complicated storyline made it fail commercially, no one was left in any doubt about Kamal's talents as a storyteller or actor.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
In Aalavandhan, Kamal played both Vijaykumar, a commandant of an anti-terrorist squad, and his twin brother Nandakumar, a psychotic killer.
While the cop was Kamal at his best, Nandu was an inspired reprisal of Anthony Hopkins' famously villainous role, Hannibal Lecter, in The Silence of the Lambs.
Kamal played Nandu to maniacal perfection, appearing as a clean-shaving lunatic, obsessed with murder and venom in his eyes. His voice, dialogues and body language portrayed a frightening killer.
The film, which was directed by Suresh Krishna, however, failed to ignite the box-office.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
One endearing role portrayed by Kamal is that of Nallasivam, who plays a snappy, quirky handicapped communist with distinct views on life, though he has a strange way of expressing himself.
With his lop-sided smile, huge glasses and grotesque face as a result of an accident, Kamal brought such empathy and charm to his character that it is now regarded as one of his all-time superb characterisations.
No wonder, the film which was directed by Sundar C and scripted by Haasan was critically acclaimed.
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Kamal Haasan's awesome avatars!
With his penchant for novel stories and characters that offered ever more scope, it wasn't surprising when Kamal announced his dream project Marudhanaayagam, the story supposedly, of a rebel slave who eventually grows to become a commandant in the British India Company troops.
The trailer shows an ambitious scene, with Kamal, presumable as the rebel, dressed in little but his loincloth, and later, his gradual ascendance to Muslim attire. Pictures of his famous pose, seated on a cushion with a sword in his hands sparked much interest. Regrettably, the film ran into production problems, and awaits further work, and release.
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