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'I never fear the unknown'

The chat with Kamal Haasan almost didn't happen. The actor-director had a busy schedule, with interviews and promotional work for Hey! Ram. But he turned up for the chat, nonetheless, to fulfill his commitment. And in spite of being extremely tired, the superstar was at his wittiest best, much to the delight of his fans who has patiently waited for him.

Kamal Haasan:

Hi, I'm here...now it's my turn to wait :-)

Kamalahaasan (Repeat Q) As an ardent fan of yours, I have taken your name from the movie Indian as my identity on chat. I salute you. You are the GREATEST actor to grace Indian cinema and that includes Hindi cinema. Have you ever considered making English movies? What would be your dream role?

Indian: Marudanaayagam.

Hi, Kamal, I saw your site heyramthemovie.com, excellent job by the team. Have you released the audio for the movie? Can you put a similar site for all your forthcoming projects right from the beginning and update it quite often so that everyone thruout the world will be abreast of the situation?

Maadhavan ramamohan: Happy that you liked it. Good idea, will follow up;-)

I often feel that Indian films deviate from their story (most of the time doesn't have one) by introducing songs, fights and comedy, which is not at all relevant to the context. What do you think?

Srini: You've got company.

Hi, Did you fear about the future when you are waiting for a breakthrough in filmdom during your adoloscence? And what would you have been now if had not been that lucky?

R Srinivasan: I never fear the unknown, if I hadn't been that lucky I would have been a film buff.

Kamal, Have u ever thought of making a movie about thanthai Periyar?

Arms: Most of my movies contain a little bit of him. A full movie on him might be offensive to fanatic Hindus or for that matter, any religious fanatic.

Kamalji, how did you feel when you lost the address slip from Amala in Pushpak (last scene)?

Geeseenu: That was not Amala's address, don't worry I know her address ;-)

KAMAL HASSAN...MY EARLIER QUESTION WAS WHY DON'T U ACT IN HINDI MOVIES ANY MORE? AND WHICH WAS THE BEST MOVIE YOU HAVE DONE FOR HINDI CINEMA???

Roshan: Both your questions will be answered with Hey! Ram.

Hello Kamal, Can you please tell me if you are still in touch with Bharathnatyam? I heard from (writer) Sujatha that the floor in one of the rooms in your house has a dent caused by your rigorous dance practice..is it true ??!!

Radha: Yes, the floor dent has been rectified now. And I don't dent it any more.

Hi Kamal, How long do you think you can act in movies? Acting in one movie in a year, how many movies (like Hey! Ram) do you think you can give in your lifetime? Have you ever thought about this kind of planning ?

Arms: Yes, when you can think about it, you bet on your computer I would have thought about it a thousand times.

Do u have the guts to play the same role as a Muslim?

Krishkp: When I have the moral courage to play a psychopath, a smuggler, a good man, an innocent man, do you think I'll lack it?

Krishkp: *more* My denoucing caste and religion will be better understood if one watches Hey! Ram with equipoise.

Hi Kamal, forget the biased minds who would keep criticising. Continue your good work, an intellectual artiste of your calibre and such movies as your Hey! Ram are definitely needed.

Ganesan: Thanks, you are definitely needed to promote the will in filmmakers like me.

After Hey! Ram, what characters do you look forward to playing or enjoy acting?

Hari Ram: One that gets the most applause:-)

Hi Kamal, it's great to see you on screen after a long hiatus from screen. The film being historical, can it sustain the enthu of people as you believe and it seems that you have censor problems??

Madhu: Enthu and Madhu seem to rhyme, don't you think? ;-) Not only me, all filmmakers and especially sensible filmmakers have problems with an obselete and centrally driven body called Censors.

ANYONE KNOWS WHERE THE MARUTHNAYGAM TRAILER IS? THEY SAID IT'S ON THE NET. BUT WHERE???

M S Krishna Raj: It's not there on the Net through official sources and I know. It might soon be.

Kama,l at what stage is Maruthanayagam in? When would we be finally seeing the much-awaited epic?

Suresh: 30 minutes and Rs 7 crores later, even I can't fix a precise date but it will happen.

Unto this last by Tolstoy-inspired M KGandhi... which is the book that inspired you to alter your life a bit?

Arul: Crime and Punishment.

Hi Kamal, I heard you are big fan of Hotel Samco, I'm a regular there, and only then did I come to know of it. Great food!

Navmani: Samco has shifted locations but I haven't shifted my allegiance to Samco. Samco is RajKamal Films International, my neighbour now.

Kamalahaasan, Do you have any plans to develop/diversify yourself and your considerable talents to the Net? Please be careful that you don't go the way ABCL did! Don't trust all and sundry!

Indian2: I am very wary of Nets, cyber or any kind. What is the ABCL way? Did they have a chosen path?

How I wished you, the Indian/Hindustani/Bharatheeyudu, were there at KANDAHAR on IC 814, to ploy that martial art, one twist of the hijackers' nerves, and they would have dropped dead!....No?

Bharatwaasi: You are watching too many movies. NO? ;-)

Are you happy with the music of Hey! Ram by Raja?

Karthik: You have got company. I am satisfied with the songs and I know I will have company too.

Kamal... what about the project on Subramaniya Bharati that K Balachander announced after the success of Varumaiyin Sigappu? I recall, he had mentioned that there cannot be another actor to play Bharathi but you...

Saisuresh: I think someone else is planning to make quick money on Bharathi.

Kamal .. You know I watched probably the best movie of this century, Cititzen Kane... Orson Welles... you think we in India can ever make a movie like that ...Welles was only 25 when he made the movie!

Zoonyspaaz: That's another century now. Hey! Ram belongs to the new century. Sorry I'm not 25 anymore.

As a firm believer in first amendment rights, I think you, sir, have every right to put your spin on history/events.

Cotthetta: Of course, I have the right and you know the amendment, how many political pedestrians and flunkies know that?

Kamal.. quick money on Bharathi? You mean, you will allow someone else to beat you to Bharathi? Why? Doesn't his poetry rouse you, as it did your parents?

Saisuresh: I am still making Hey! Ram and have Marudu to contend with. Almost anyone can beat me to it. If Bharathi's poems doesn't rouse me, it means I don't read Tamil.

Good luck on you spirited venture Kamal. How do you think Gandhi would relate to the current info age? Cyber Age ( Humour please:-)

Suresh: People would be shooting questions at him. I think he would have enjoyed cyber space.

Kamal, why do you make a point of having kissing scenes in your films lately??

Oasis: You don't ask that of songs? Do you like music so much? Or is it that you hate sucking face?

Kamal... your feelings when you and not Sridevi won the National award for her performance in Moondram Pirai?

Saisuresh: What I got was the best actor award, what she would have got was a best actress award. They are two separate categories, I think you are confusing genders.

How I cried, watching you in Saagara Sangamam, especially when you sob holding Jaya Prada's hand for getting a chance to perform at a cultural festival. What is it in you that makes viewers cry?

Bharatwaasi: I hope it's not my bad acting;-)

Kamal, who's your inspiration and mentor?

Venkat: Inspiration many, mentors thank goodness, again many.

Mr Kamal, greetings to you and your family. I remember watching one of your interviews in the '80s. You had told that you had the habit of going through Karl Marx's Das Capital every night before going to bed. What is the speciality of that book that attracted you?

Arul: Assured sound sleep within a few pages, I'm yet to complete it. I'm sure I'll have company in many modern communists.

Kamalahaasan: Do you have ANY plans to enter politics? If so, when? And where would your REAL sympathies lie? Maybe you could enlighten us by telling us the 5 people you admire the most in the whole world.

Indian: When I enter politics everyone would have entered it. It will be, I hope, a revolution without violence. What am I thinking? It's a silly dream. A naive pedestrain aspiration. The political creatures in our capital and others will see to it that nothing so dangerous to their profession will happen.

LAST TWO QUESTIONS.

Hi Kamal, I heard that you and Rajini are going do a project together to help your guru KB in 2000. Is that correct?

Maadhavan ramamohan: I don't know about it, how did you know?

Do u think, Gandhi was right in making Nehru the PM? I've a feeling that Sardar Patel suited it better and I think this is bigger mistake than the partition of India

Kumaran: I read somewhere, I think in Playboy, that the Playboy dictionary explains the word analyse as hindsight!

Why do you think Hey! Ram is relevant today?

Guna: As relevant as Guna and Kamal Haasan are.

Thanks, I enjoyed it, but if I yawn, you'll think I didn't:-) I am because I got up at 5 and have to do that again tomorrow. *yawn* I loved it. Thank you *yawn* sorry all. Goodnight*yawn* Will be back sometime when I'm not this sleepy good *yawn* sorry night.

Pictures: Jewella C Miranda