Legendary South Indian superstar Kamal Haasan who turns 69 today has been an inspiration to millions of actors through all generations. The Southern superstar whose real name is Parthasarathy Srinivasan is one of the most celebrated actors who has worked in both South Indian and Bollywood movies and has also won multiple National Awards as an actor.
The filmmaker, dancer, actor, singer, screenplay writer, social activist, television presenter, and politician has seen lots of ups and downs in both his personal and career life and has been exposed to highly praiseworthy words as well as controversies.
Won President’s medal at the age of 4
Kamal started acting at the very young age of 4 and won the Best Actor President’s Medal for his portrayal in the movie Kalathur Kannamma.
Only actor give silver jubilees in 5 languages
Kamal Haasan is fluent in many languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, French, English, Kannada, and Bengali. He is the only actor to have worked in six languages and has given silver jubilees in 5 languages.
Highest number of movies that went to the Oscars
He has the highest number of movies- 7 that were sent to the Oscars as the Indian entry for the prestigious Academy Awards under the Best Foreign Language Film Category.
Highest number of Filmfare Awards
He has won the highest number of Filmfare Awards- a total of 19. More than two decades ago in 2000, the superstar finally wrote the Filmfare management not to nominate him for any awards henceforth. Similarly, he is the second Tamil actor after Sivaji Ganesan to receive the French government’s prestigious recognition-Chevalier Award.
First Indian actor to get a paycheck of 1 crore
Kamal Haasan was the highest-paid star in India from 1988 to 1998 and is the first Indian superstar to get a paycheck of 1 crore.
Converted his fan clubs into social welfare organisations
The Nayakan actor disowned all his fan clubs and started ‘Narpani Iyakkam.’ Kamal was the first actor to convert all his fan clubs into social welfare organisations.
Called Nathuram Godse first Hindu terrorist
Kamal Haasan triggered controversy a few years ago by calling Nathuram Godse the first Hindu terrorist post-independence in front of the majority of the Muslim audience.
His movies caused controversies
His movies like Thevar Magan, Hey Ram triggered a lot of controversies. People slammed Thevar Magan for equating violence with Tamil Nadu’s Thevar community. Hey Ram which was the official entry from India to the Oscars and received three National Awards led to a lot of hue and cry from political parties as it portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in a negative light.
His spy thriller Viswaroopam released in 2003 also triggered a lot of uproar both from Hindu and Muslim communities.
Comment on Mahabharta led to police complaint
During one of his interviews on a private television channel, he commented that Panchali in Mahabharata was used as a pawn by the men for playing gamble. This statement did not go down well with a few people who filed police complaints against him.
Negative comments on Jayalalitha’s death
After the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha, Kamal Haasan commented that he felt for the people who were dependent on her and offered deep condolences to them. This drew a lot of ire from Jayalalitha supporters on social media.