Madras celebrates as its very own star has turned 70

Kamal Haasan's 70th birthday celebration highlights his versatile talents in acting, directing, and producing iconic Tamil films.

The cherubic boy in Kalathur Kannamma has turned 70, and yes, time does fly. Kamal Haasan, a five-year-old back then in 1960, has been defying the conventional norms of celluloid, adding a dash of magic, pushing the bars of excellence, and has left his imprint across categories. Acting, directing, choreography (he was an assistant dance master in Malayalam films), production duties, singing, lyric and screenplay writing, are all part of his vast repertoire.

And just as he clocked 70 last Thursday (November 7), wishes poured in and the release-announcement teaser of his Thug Life, helmed by Mani Ratnam, dropped in the digital space. The two, joining hands after the masterly Nayagan (1987), have understandably set expectations on fire. In the duopoly of Tamil movies, the Rajini-Kamal combine has set a high benchmark, for the movies they headline, the profits that accrue, and the dignity that they lend to their enduring friendship.

The laziest thing would be to label one as the star and the other as the actor, but both have proved that it is interchangeable. Rajini’s acting chops were evident in the poignant Mullum Malarum (1978), while Kamal’s box-office charisma was obvious in Sagalakala Vallavan (1982). In the Madras of the 1980s and 90s, the two held sway, and they continue to do so even now. It is a tribute to their longevity and the ability to stay relevant within a changing fan-demographic and evolving viewership tastes.

Kamal often did the commercial-Indie split or the action-comedy segregation while offering his bouquet of films over the years. Back in the 1990s, a few movie-halls were associated with specific actors. Albert at Egmore was deemed a Rajini bastion, but Kamal’s laugh-riot Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990) ran to packed houses at that theatre. A year earlier, he did Aboorva Sagotharargal (Appu Raja in Hindi), playing the dwarf character with elan. The box-office went into overdrive and an impressed DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi penned a note: Kalaiye un marupeyar thaan Kamalo?(Art, is thy alternate name Kamal?)

It is a tribute to Kamal that even his films that didn’t exactly keep the cash-registers ringing have acquired an incremental value. Guna’s Kanmani anbodu song proved to be the emotional spine that held the recent Malayalam hit Manjummel Boys together. While Meiyazhagan currently draws in appreciation, people immediately recall the Kamal-Madhavan bromance and innate philosophy in Anbe Sivam (2003). Be it the sad Moondram Pirai (1982) climax or the all-guns-blazing denouement in Vikram (2022), Kamal has held his space while the years race by and he does the balancing act between the arts and politics.