The star of Indian Cinema who has been serving as an OG even before the OG word was mainstreamed. Kamal Hassan has one of the highest movies that were submitted for the Oscars in the Indian film industry. This year around June he was invited to be in the Oscars voting panel connected to AMPAS, which is Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Born on 7th of November 1954, he made his debut in the world of entertainment in 1960 with Kalathur Kannamma as a child artist. His first movie as a lead actor came in 1974 titled Kanyakumari. Since then he never rested when it came to upskilling his acting skills. Not even a complete year later his breakthrough role came in the theatres through Tamil Cinema and the title was Apoorva Raagangal. On the auspicious occasion of his birthday let us walk through some of his major films that have reached the Oscars.
7. Saagar
This romantically complicated film starred Kamal Hassan, Rishi Kapoor, and Dimple Kapadia. Hassan played the character Raja who belonged to a not so comfortable background in social status.
6. Swathi Muthyam
A Telugu-language romantic film that stars Kamal Hassan as Sivayya. If one keeps the release year in mind of this movie the plot is really a bold move for the era. A young man with cognitive disability marries a young widow and tries to change the societal norms surrounding widowed women.
5. Nayakan
In this iconic Tamil-language drama Hassan played the role of Sakthivelu. The story portrayed him as the one who murdered a corrupt police officer in the rage of his father’s death. He escapes to the city of Bombay as an adult and enters into the realm of crime but in a different light than that of evil one.
4. Thevar Magan
In his another Tamil-language film he plays the role of an educated man who did his higher studies in London and returns to his homeland with his modern girlfriend. His character Sakthivelu’s idea of a peaceful life clashes with his father’s traditional beliefs.
3. Kuruthipunal
A senior and upright police officer S. Adinarayanan was one of the iconic roles of Hassan which acted as a stepping stone in his acting career. This Tamil film centers around the plot of terrorism and a police squad.
2. Indian
As the title suggests, this film follows the theme of patriotism. Hassan played a dual role here depicting his skill of carrying both the characters effortlessly. His primary role is Veerasekharan Senapathy who is a veteran. His other role was Senapathy’s son Chandru who is a corrupt individual. This film also holds a record for being one of the most expensive films made at that time.
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1. Hey Ram
This film rightfully got submitted for Oscars as it delves into the sensitive topic of partition and the assasination of Mahatma Gandhi. The film uses an alternate story told from an old man. Thus though historically not so accurate, it does convey a message to the Indian audience about the historical past of the nation.
Concluding Thoughts
These films in the list are just some examples of how great his performances are. There are so many movies of Kamal Hassan in different industries across India that need to be seen. Each of the projects he has worked on has a charm that cannot be described easily. That is why he is called Ulaganayagan and very rightfully so. Through different characters and various roles he has proved himself time and again that he is one of the legendary actors of the county. It is not easy for many actors to sustain their popularity in the entertainment world but not for Hassan. His popularity and fame comes effortlessly to him. Reasons being his dedication towards his acting and challenging scripts he takes on or sometimes he produces himself which also is another thing to praise about.
Written by Kenbi Riba