New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Having completed 50 years in Indian cinema, veteran actor Kamal Haasan has written, acted in and produced numerous movies but directed only two – ‘Hey Ram’ and ‘Virumandi’. The multi-faceted star now reveals he is craving to wield the megaphone again.
‘I will direct more films… I have done ‘Hey Ram’ (2000) and ‘Virumandi’ (2004) and there will be more. Lots of young actors want me to direct and guide them and help them in their career,’ said Kamal here at the Siri Fort Auditorium Friday evening.
‘There are so many actors, people and talents, who haven’t got their moment of glory and if possible I’d like to help all of them (by directing or helping otherwise),’ he added.
Dressed in a pinstripe black suit, white shirt and blue dotted tie, the 55-year-old was in the capital, back from Italy, as the guest of honour of the ‘Retrospective of Kamal Haasan Films’. The three-day long gala opened with ‘Hey Ram’.
Organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), it was inaugurated by Ambika Soni, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and celebrates the multilingual star’s 50 years of contribution to Indian cinema.
Asked if the multiple national award winner was working on some scripts for his third directorial venture, Kamal told IANS: ‘Yes. There are, in fact, quite a few scripts ready.’
And asked whether he would like to direct his daughters Shruti and Akshara some day, he said: ‘That depends on them.’
Also present at the event were Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Choudhury Mohan Jatua, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) secretary general Amit Mitra, DFF director S.M. Khan and DFF director (administration) Anurag Misra.
Seven of Kamal Haasan’s movies’ will be screened at the gala including the likes of his Tamil outings ‘Anbe Sivam’, ‘Virumandi’, ‘Thevar Magan’, ‘Dasavatharam’ and ‘Nayagan’, and one Telugu movie ‘Sagar Sangamam’.
The retrospective will end Sunday. The screening is free for the public.
Talking about his journey so far in cinema, the veteran said: ‘This journey seems very short… I owe a lot to my supportive family and my gurus, who taught me what I am today.’
‘Especially, two of my gurus paid me to learn from them. I am made up of all those blocks they put in. It’s not humility. I have a talent of my own but I owe it up to them. Fifty years and I am still going on. May be, it’s because as they say the early bird gets the worm and I started early and got fed well,’ Kamal added.
