Kamal Hassan – dancer extrordinaire!

We all know him for his acting and directing skills. But Kamal Hassan is also an amazing dancer. There was a time when regional language films were out or reach to Hindi speakers, subtitles were virtually unknown. A film called Ek Duje Ke Liye starred Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri and was a take on the Romeo and Juliet type tale of star crossed lovers. They meet in college, and are from different parts of India, thus unable to understand each others' language, yet love quickly blossoms despite fierce parental opposition. The film left a lasting impression on my very young mind, and some images simply never went away. One was of Kamal and Rati on opposite sides of a door, unable to meet, as the haunting SP Balasubramaniam song Tere Mere Beech Mein played out.



The other lasting image, which I cannot share as there are no Youtube clips, is of Kamal doing Bharatnatyam as he rages at the fates that keep his love away from him! Powerful stuff! And it was most unusual to see a mainstream hero who was trained in classical Indian Dance.

Since then many Kamal dance moments in regional films have been discovered by me, and he get more and more impressive! In this one he demonstrates three forms of Indian dance set to the same music in Sagarasangamam:



Watch these almost balletic moves in the film Dance Master (Punnagai Mannan):



From Sagarasangamam again - here we see Kamal worshiping his alcohol in a demented dance:



More HERE

Kamal Hassan – dancer extrordinaire!

We all know him for his acting and directing skills. But Kamal Hassan is also an amazing dancer. There was a time when regional language films were out or reach to Hindi speakers, subtitles were virtually unknown. A film called Ek Duje Ke Liye starred Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri and was a take on the Romeo and Juliet type tale of star crossed lovers. They meet in college, and are from different parts of India, thus unable to understand each others' language, yet love quickly blossoms despite fierce parental opposition. The film left a lasting impression on my very young mind, and some images simply never went away. One was of Kamal and Rati on opposite sides of a door, unable to meet, as the haunting SP Balasubramaniam song Tere Mere Beech Mein played out.



The other lasting image, which I cannot share as there are no Youtube clips, is of Kamal doing Bharatnatyam as he rages at the fates that keep his love away from him! Powerful stuff! And it was most unusual to see a mainstream hero who was trained in classical Indian Dance.

Since then many Kamal dance moments in regional films have been discovered by me, and he get more and more impressive! In this one he demonstrates three forms of Indian dance set to the same music in Sagarasangamam:



Watch these almost balletic moves in the film Dance Master (Punnagai Mannan):



From Sagarasangamam again - here we see Kamal worshiping his alcohol in a demented dance:



More HERE

Happy Birthday Mani Sir

On the occasion of the birthday of one of our finest directors in Indian Cinema, I am posting some of the brilliant scenes, songs and trailers from different movies directed by him.

First few are from my favorite movie directed by him - Kannathil Muthamittal







GURU - A film that promised a lot, but sadly turned out to be a revised version of Ratnam's earlier work, Nayagan with a different setting.







NAYAGAN - A film based on a true story of a Bombay based Don, Varadarajan Mudaliar. Though based on a true story, it has many similarities to Coppola's The Godfather Trilogy.



DIL SE - One of the best films in Indian Cinema. Terrific performances by the lead actors. SRK, Manisha Koirala, Santosh Sivan, Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Gulzar were in TOP FORM in this film. A film that gets better with every viewing. Soem of my favorite scenes from the film -














ROJA



BOMBAY/BUMBAI







BOW to the LEGEND.

Happy Birthday Mani Sir

On the occasion of the birthday of one of our finest directors in Indian Cinema, I am posting some of the brilliant scenes, songs and trailers from different movies directed by him.

First few are from my favorite movie directed by him - Kannathil Muthamittal







GURU - A film that promised a lot, but sadly turned out to be a revised version of Ratnam's earlier work, Nayagan with a different setting.







NAYAGAN - A film based on a true story of a Bombay based Don, Varadarajan Mudaliar. Though based on a true story, it has many similarities to Coppola's The Godfather Trilogy.



DIL SE - One of the best films in Indian Cinema. Terrific performances by the lead actors. SRK, Manisha Koirala, Santosh Sivan, Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Gulzar were in TOP FORM in this film. A film that gets better with every viewing. Soem of my favorite scenes from the film -














ROJA



BOMBAY/BUMBAI







BOW to the LEGEND.

Who is SRK taking tips from for his next Ra One

SRK is taking tips for Ra One from Kamal Haasan, who was even spotted at the Akon bash held at Mannat

Last week, South superstar Kamal Haasan's presence at B-Town Badshah Shah Rukh Khan's Akon party at Mannat raised many eyebrows. Apparently, KH has been bonding with SRK and has been giving the latter valuable tips on the making of Ra One.

Says a source, "Shah Rukh has huge plans for Ra One and has been meeting Kamal Haasan regularly to bounce off ideas for his pet project. Shah Rukh and Kamal know each other since their Hey Ram days. The two have kept in touch. King Khan respects Kamal as an actor and loves his style of filmmaking. The two superstars are quite fond of each other."

Adds the source, "While Shah Rukh plays a super hero in Ra One, he's amazed by the hard work, meticulous planning, astonishing cinematography and breathtaking graphics that Kamal brought to Dasavaratham. He has been asking the veteran actor about how to make a stunning film with great special effects. That's the reason why Kamal was spotted at Shah Rukh's party last week."

Mushtaq Shiekh, co-screenwriter for Ra One, says, "I don't know if Kamalsaab is helping Shah Rukh with the film but I am not surprised to see him in Mannat because Shah Rukh has been maintaining a consistent connection with him."

Shah Rukh Khan was unavailable for comment.

LINK

Who is SRK taking tips from for his next Ra One

SRK is taking tips for Ra One from Kamal Haasan, who was even spotted at the Akon bash held at Mannat

Last week, South superstar Kamal Haasan's presence at B-Town Badshah Shah Rukh Khan's Akon party at Mannat raised many eyebrows. Apparently, KH has been bonding with SRK and has been giving the latter valuable tips on the making of Ra One.

Says a source, "Shah Rukh has huge plans for Ra One and has been meeting Kamal Haasan regularly to bounce off ideas for his pet project. Shah Rukh and Kamal know each other since their Hey Ram days. The two have kept in touch. King Khan respects Kamal as an actor and loves his style of filmmaking. The two superstars are quite fond of each other."

Adds the source, "While Shah Rukh plays a super hero in Ra One, he's amazed by the hard work, meticulous planning, astonishing cinematography and breathtaking graphics that Kamal brought to Dasavaratham. He has been asking the veteran actor about how to make a stunning film with great special effects. That's the reason why Kamal was spotted at Shah Rukh's party last week."

Mushtaq Shiekh, co-screenwriter for Ra One, says, "I don't know if Kamalsaab is helping Shah Rukh with the film but I am not surprised to see him in Mannat because Shah Rukh has been maintaining a consistent connection with him."

Shah Rukh Khan was unavailable for comment.

LINK

My "Apoorva Sahodarargal" review

Hi folks!

Warning - it contains spoilers.

I decided to review an Indian film starring Kamal Haasan - Apoorva Sahodarargal - by Srinivasa Rao Singeetam. It is a pathbreaking movie from the late 80´s and was a big hit in south India. Please read my review and watch the movie if you can.

When a great director and genius actor are paired, magic is bound to happen, especially when their ideas are fully materialized. That is the case in Apoorva Sahodarargal. This is probably the most creative film in Indian cinema. It takes the classical ingredients in Indian revenge films, like: the brothers being separated in young age as a result of a villainous act which broke their family, and their casual reunion when they're grown up, which is followed with a revenge plan to kill the villain.

However, what distinguishes Apoorva Sahodarargal from other films which follow that storyline is its highly creative execution. One sibling is a dwarf and this opens a scope for a comic feel in the movie, transforming a revenge film in a highly comical experience.

Kamal Haasan plays three roles - Raghu, Raja and Appu. Father and sons by this order. Raja is a mechanic and Appu a dwarf. The highlight of the movie is Appu, the dwarf working in a circus. Upon accidentally discovering that he belongs to a family which was split when he was a baby, Appu becomes psycho and plans a series of murders to kill all the persons involved in the destruction of his family.

What comes next is hilarious to say the least. We get to see a dwarf murdering the villains, one by one, in the most comic ways it could happen. He plants funny traps to execute the villains and has his share of laughter at the cost of those murders. The scene where Appu carries a magic wand while smiling to the villain and posing an authoritarian posture is just awesome. It’s the scene which defines Kamal Haasan's genius and displays his limitless creativity.

Raja is a common man. Nothing special here. But Kamal deserves applause for his
interpretation of Appu. Its a groundbreaking performance not because the looked like a dwarf, but he gives an amazing personality to the character, by playing Appu in a comic light, thus adding layers of insanity to the character, a dwarf serial killer! But his performance is very diversified and one gets to know the softer side of his persona. The part where he breaks up in tears in the court room, for signing as witness for the marriage of the woman he loves, is a class act.

The movie is also path-breaking on the technical front. It’s amazing how they managed to make the dwarf look so real, even though the film was made 20 years ago.

I also liked Gouthami. She is a good actor and unbelievably hot+cute, LOL! The songs are nice. I liked "raja kayavaja" the most. It’s damn funny.

My "Apoorva Sahodarargal" review

Hi folks!

Warning - it contains spoilers.

I decided to review an Indian film starring Kamal Haasan - Apoorva Sahodarargal - by Srinivasa Rao Singeetam. It is a pathbreaking movie from the late 80´s and was a big hit in south India. Please read my review and watch the movie if you can.

When a great director and genius actor are paired, magic is bound to happen, especially when their ideas are fully materialized. That is the case in Apoorva Sahodarargal. This is probably the most creative film in Indian cinema. It takes the classical ingredients in Indian revenge films, like: the brothers being separated in young age as a result of a villainous act which broke their family, and their casual reunion when they're grown up, which is followed with a revenge plan to kill the villain.

However, what distinguishes Apoorva Sahodarargal from other films which follow that storyline is its highly creative execution. One sibling is a dwarf and this opens a scope for a comic feel in the movie, transforming a revenge film in a highly comical experience.

Kamal Haasan plays three roles - Raghu, Raja and Appu. Father and sons by this order. Raja is a mechanic and Appu a dwarf. The highlight of the movie is Appu, the dwarf working in a circus. Upon accidentally discovering that he belongs to a family which was split when he was a baby, Appu becomes psycho and plans a series of murders to kill all the persons involved in the destruction of his family.

What comes next is hilarious to say the least. We get to see a dwarf murdering the villains, one by one, in the most comic ways it could happen. He plants funny traps to execute the villains and has his share of laughter at the cost of those murders. The scene where Appu carries a magic wand while smiling to the villain and posing an authoritarian posture is just awesome. It’s the scene which defines Kamal Haasan's genius and displays his limitless creativity.

Raja is a common man. Nothing special here. But Kamal deserves applause for his
interpretation of Appu. Its a groundbreaking performance not because the looked like a dwarf, but he gives an amazing personality to the character, by playing Appu in a comic light, thus adding layers of insanity to the character, a dwarf serial killer! But his performance is very diversified and one gets to know the softer side of his persona. The part where he breaks up in tears in the court room, for signing as witness for the marriage of the woman he loves, is a class act.

The movie is also path-breaking on the technical front. It’s amazing how they managed to make the dwarf look so real, even though the film was made 20 years ago.

I also liked Gouthami. She is a good actor and unbelievably hot+cute, LOL! The songs are nice. I liked "raja kayavaja" the most. It’s damn funny.