Kamal Haasan

A Cinematic Journey

By: K. Hariharan

Narrated by: Vijayan Menon

In many ways, Kamal Haasan is unique. One of the greatest actors India has ever produced, he has usually gone further than just enacting a role to completely immersing himself in it. Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey explores some 50 films out of the 245 Haasan has been associated with and analyses his cinematic journey from his beginnings as a child star all the way to his latest blockbusters. It traces how, even at a young age, he took on roles other actors would be wary of, positioning himself as an object of female desire in the 1980s; balancing both comedy and tragedy with aplomb; playing formerly caricatured roles such as that of a dwarf in Apoorva Sagodharargal and a woman in Chachi 420 with dignity; and having a resurgence in 2022 with the blockbuster Vikram.

This book is the best introduction possible to Kamal Haasan: his life, his thoughts and his movies.

©2024 Hariharan Krishnan (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

Fitting tribute to a great star for generations, with a narrator butchering Tamil!

Nice work by the author capturing the thought process, efforts and nuances behind so many masterpieces Kamal has delivered over six decades. It was good to learn how the fellow artists and crew members, from writers to directors, helped elevate our experiences. At times, weaving the macro political and social developments into the movie storyline and characters, seemed a bit forced.

A product that came so close was robbed off its greatness by the narrator who is bent on getting his French correct more than Tamil. It is a bit annoying he lacks basic pronunciation of common Tamil names and words, butchering them on every opportunity.

An Excellent Tribute to an Evergreen and Universal Star our “Ulaganayagan”

A superb and Concise book hope the Author explored less of politics and Focused more on What went on behind the makings of the films to explore the creative processes as Kamal Hasan is an Impeccable Artist.