Writer, critic and filmmaker K.Hariharan recently launched his book Kamal Haasan, A Cinematic Journey, an unparalleled trajectory of the life and work of the maestro who redefined Indian cinema. Published by HarperCollins, it explores the illustrious career of one of the greatest actors India has ever produced, and brings to light the roles done by him with aplomb.
What was the inspiration behind writing this book? K.Hariharan replies, “The idea for the book has been in both our minds since we held a week-long workshop in Screenwriting at the IIT Madras in 2009. As it was incubating, as if by serendipity, I got a request from HarperCollins in 2012 if I would be interested in writing such a book. That ignited the fire and I began in earnest to research all the major socio-political contexts that surrounded his films from 1972 onwards. The biggest inspiration was the fact that there are very few books on Indian cinema which provide a sociological cum political perspective of an Indian film celebrity like Kamal Haasan.”
More than a film star
A lot of insights in this book are by Kamal Haasan himself. “It was decided that the book should be about the cinematic journey with no reference to his personal or social life,” says the author. “Kamal Haasan is a total filmmaker and the fact that he is also a great actor adds to the list of capabilities he brings to his films. When he entered films at the age of 15, acting was the last thing he had on his mind. He joined the unit of K. Balachander to learn the craft of directing films. But the director also got him to act in all his films between ’72 and ’77 and, after seeing his amazing talent on screen, he convinced him to stick mainly to acting. He is a reluctant film star who is deeply interested in singing, choreographing, set design, make-up, costumes and special effects.”
The book is the best introduction to the actor, as it traces his life from an early age and the author agrees that it called for intensive research at his end. “It began with long hours of interviews with Kamal Haasan to study how he recognised the environment within which he was working. Having studied how the world of cinema functions in developed countries like Europe and the USA, the Indian film industry was undoubtedly disorganised in the ways it opted for screenplays, auditions, set-design, etc. The focus was on what kind of innovative approaches he could do on his own and nudge the director and technicians to adopt, in order to shape up the film better. The Indian film industry is largely run by proprietors and financiers who have little or no education in the deeper industrial processes involved in the developed countries. They work in haphazard ways which result in 80 per cent of the films being commercial flops. My research was to find out how he assuaged the difficulties on location and worked with other artistes to contribute their best against all odds.”
Experiences with the actor
He author recollects his personal experiences with the actor while chronicling his journey. “The biggest challenge was to find small chunks of time in his busy schedules. And once you began a conversation, you had to be ready for a deluge of perspectives. He will provide references to some of his ideas in German Expressionism, American Film Noir or the French Avant Garde. He would quote from the Natya Shastra to Karl Marx and from Thoreau to Dostoevesky. He was also a poet and would narrate how he was inspired by the works of early Bhakti poetry or Subramania Bharati. I would come out drenched in his erudition and scholarship, hoping that I could fit in a tenth of all he said into my book.”
As a filmmaker with an understanding of politics and culture, K.Hariharan says, the biggest strength of the book is that it is accessible to anyone interested in Film Studies. He believes that the context of Kamal Haasan’s films are more important than the texts of his films. “The book will get the readers to recognise how the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu shaped their films until 1972 in one way, and how his films changed course after the political debacles of the split in the DMK party before plunging into the Emergency between ’75 and ’77. And later, what happens to Tamil films post 1985, after the era of liberalisation ushered in by Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. Yet again, what happens when the tidal wave of digital technology sweeps in to drown the analog world?”
Journey as a filmmaker
K.Hariharan has post-graduated in screenwriting and direction from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) in 1976, before starting his journey that spans from being a young filmmaker to making 9 feature films and 350 short films and documentary films, winning national awards and being selected at film festivals. “Making films was my ‘sadhana’ and I would always be doing some assignment or the other without a break. It is this practise that convinced producers to fund me for varied projects in a span of 30 years. It is important to keep in touch with the art and craft and the quality of the film will automatically find its place. I have never been lured by the ambition to showcase my films at festivals or win any big award. My only consideration was, ‘Did the process of making the film product bring joy to my crew members and me?’ If it did, our job was done,” he explains.
Back in the days, filmmaking was completely different, he points out. “It has been a sharp U-Turn from the analog days to these modern digital times. Those times required enormous close-knit ideation and collaboration. The camera, the sound recorder, the editing machine, the film processing systems, the final sound mixing and releasing the final copy were based on different technologies and their specialists. It was this interpersonal faith that brought us together and we contributed to shape the film quality in better ways. With the arrival of digital technology all this diversity and expertise collapsed to bring the entire process onto one computer platform with multiple software add-ons. The romance of a bunch of quirky artists discussing each one’s contribution into the buffet of ideas has now shifted to emails and WhatsApp messages. The good part of the story, however, is that I can see a lot of young women and members of the queer community have joined the workflow to create the next revolution in cinema. We are definitely looking at some exciting times ahead!”
As a writer-critic, K.Hariharan has contributed to multiple books and journals on media and cinema. “I have been a regular contributor to publications along with writing for some books on cinema. The area I found the greatest satisfaction was in teaching courses on Indian cinema across the world along with creating several video modules on film appreciation. All the energies that I put into teaching cinema culminated in setting up the LV Prasad Film & TV Academy in 20024 in Chennai. I derived great satisfaction in watching my students grow as competent filmmakers showcasing their films across the world and winning awards,” he concludes.
Title: Kamal Haasan, A Cinematic Journey
Author: K.Hariharan
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 272
Price: Rs 699
