Kamal Haasan on ‘Indian 2’, ‘Manjummel Boys’ and ‘Thug Life’: ‘I’m a limelight moth’
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Srinivasa Ramanujam
Kamal Haasan discusses his upcoming projects, Thug Life and Indian 2, and the use of his song in Malayalam superhit ‘Manjummel Boys’, and use of AI in cinema in an exclusive chat with The Hindu
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The Hindu
Kamal Haasan is currently in a mental zone filled with political and campaign ideas. His focus is on the general elections that will take place in Tamil Nadu on April 19.

With his political avatar hogging the limelight, the cinema personality Kamal Haasan has currently taken a backseat. But just for the next month or so. Because, after that, Kamal will start shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life, a much-awaited collaboration for Tamil cinema fans. There’s more in store, as Kamal tells us in a candid chat at The Hindu office during a recent visit. Excerpts:

A lot is being spoken about your political moves, but let’s discuss your first love, cinema. Vikram was released in 2022, two years ago, and you were missing on the big screen in 2023. How are you going to make it to for your fans in 2024?

We have completed both Indian 2 and Indian 3. Post-production is happening on the former now, and the post-production on the next part will follow. The shoot of Thug Life will kickstart soon after my election campaign. I also have a guest role in a film titled Kalki, and so, I think I have somewhat made up.

Vikram took us back to your own Vikram, and the recent Malayalam film Manjummel Boys took us back to your Guna. It seems like a hat tip to older Kamal films is a formula for success these days…

I’m very happy about that. I’m a limelight moth. I’m grateful for the hat tip from the Manjummel Boys team, and it’s an encomium to me, Ilaiyaraaja and the location.

As someone who has been at the forefront of innovation and backs technology to aid cinema, how do you see AI’s marriage with the film industry?

Let me go back a bit: when satellite TV came, my own mentor was on the opposition bench. I always thought of it as an allied industry and it soon became another branch of the film industry, revenue wise.

Years later, I anticipated the arrival of OTT players and wanted to be the first person doing it by releasing Vishwaroopam directly to home, because, for me, it is all about constantly expanding my audience demography... if there is a screen on a wristwatch, I would like to appear on it. But, some people demanded for a ban on it because they were invested heavily into theatres and they thought that this was competition.

They tried to buy the film, but we disagreed on the mode of payment. I kept away because the whole industry was involved in such transactions, and I’d be blowing the whistle for no reason except for personal benefit. This is the real reason behind the ban on Vishwaroopam. It was not because it was anti-Muslim; anyone who has watched the film will know that’s not the case.

AI is a new technology, and we have to embrace it. We have to take care of the artists’ livelihood, especially in a field like cinema, where there is nothing such as VRS or pension.

When we met AR Rahman, he said this about you, “I feel like he got trapped in this industry over the years. It’s a good thing for us; but for him... I don’t know. I told him to make an English film.” How do you respond to his observations?

Marudhanayagam was an attempt in that direction. It was a trilingual — in Tamil, French and English. Even then, there was political interference; they thought it promoted a Muslim forefather for the struggle for independence, rather than Mangal Pandey. But, Marudhanayagam qualifies for more; the first Sepoy Mutiny happened hundred years before as is shown now. It happened in 1757 in Madurai, and the head of that mutiny was Marudhanayagam alias Mohammad Yusuf Khan.

The Tamil Nadu Government has announced a film city at Poonamallee. What would your vision and expectations be for this project?

It should be an international hub of learning, because we are the largest filmmaking nation in the world. I want an institution that improves the quality of films. The reason why Malayalam cinema is edging ahead of us is because they are aware of international cinema. I want the faculty to be international, like how we did it in the IT industry, and once we study under the masters, we can take off.