Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan biography

Profile: Date of Birth:7 November 1954, Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu, India Nickname:Universal Hero Spouse: Sarika (1988 - 2002) (divorced) 2 children Vani Ganpati (1978 - 1988) (divorced) Mini Biography: Kamal Haasan was born on 7th November 1954. In 1960 he starred as a child artist in 'Kalathoor Kannammaa', his first movie. Ever since, he has starred in more than 150 movies, in almost all the major Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. His trajectory in the Indian film industry is one prototypical journey, where he started as a child artist, then continued as a romantic hero, and finally evolved into one of the best actors India has ever produced. As most of his movies are in Tamil, he might not have numbers like Amitabh Bachan or the recent stars like Shah Rukh Khan, but very few actors have given such a wide array of versatile performances over the last two decades like Kamal. He had to occasionally work through the commercial roles and trashy movies to finance the movies he wanted to produce with his heart - but the movies that resulted out of his artistic potential - they were in a class apart. 16 Vayadhinilae, Nayakan, Guna, Mahanadhi, Hey Ram and Alavandaan are some of the must-watch among his movies. Had he been a star in Hollywood, he would now be effortlessly rubbing shoulders with extremely talented actors like Jack Nicholson of yesteryears and Tom Hanks of the present day. Trivia: His innovative acting has earned him the title "the first, and perhaps the last, complete hero in Indian Cinema" Kamal's hobby is magic On April 27 2002 Kamala Haasan was detained at Toronto airport and denied boarding his flight to L.A. because he had an Arab name/look and was considered a potential terrorist. Is the only actor to have earned a Best Actor in a Leading Role award and a Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for the same movie (Saagar (1985)) at Filmfare Awards. Is a very very strong fan of Ilayaraja and always ropes him as the composer for all his home productions Has two daughters, Shruti K. Haasan and Akshara. Gets his wife/girlfriend to do costumes for his films Seven movies that he has starred in have been sent to represent India in Oscars for Best foreign movie category, highest by any Indian. Trained in the classical Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. Has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi films. Met action superstar Jackie Chan for the first time, when the latter came to the audio launch of Hassan's latest thriller, Dasavatharam in April of 2008. Hassan confessed to have been a huge fan of Chan, and admitted at the audio launch that he had during his career, tried emulating Jackie Chan's stunts, resulting in 32 fractures to his body. Did daredevil stunts for the film, Abhay (2001), where he did bungee jumping. Severely injured his back whilst filming. Personal Quotes: "A London editor once told me that the best way to put news hounds off your scent is to lie inventively" "The closest I feel to is Dustin Hoffman who shares many of my paradoxes. Physical appearance to begin with."