Early career: 1960s – early 1970s
Kamal Haasan made his film debut as a 6-year-old child artiste, in the film Kalathur Kannamma, which was released in 1960, directed by A. Bhimsingh. He was cast along with the Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan in the film. He acted as a child actor in five other Tamil films in the subsequent few years co-starring with Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.
Following a nine year hiatus from films, to concentrate on his education,Haasan returned with a series of low budget films in 1972, in all of which he played supporting roles. These films included roles in Arangetram and Sollathaan Ninaikkiren, both co-starring Sivakumar. His final supporting role before establishing himself as a lead actor was in Naan Avanillai. In the interim, he starred in numerous Malayalam films (41) and considers the Malayalam film industry as his Alma Mater. He admires the Malayalam film industry for nurturing thespians such as Satyan, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, P.J.Antony, Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, M.T.Vasudevan, Bharathan, Padmarajan, Lohithadas, Mohanlal, and Mammootty. It is here that he won his first acting award as an adult - Filmfare award for the best actor in Kanyakumari. He later won his second Filmfare best actor award in Malayalam for the I.V.Sasi film Eetta.
Late 1970s – 1980s
Kamal Haasan first received a regional Filmfare Award for acting for his role in the Malayalam film Kanyakumari (1974).
In the next four years, he won six regional Best Actor Filmfare Awards,including four consecutive Best Tamil Actor Awards. He acted in director K. Balachander's Apoorva Raagangal, an exploration of age-gap relationships. The late 1970s was a period that saw Kamal Haasan's frequent collaboration with K. Balachander, who also cast him in many of his socially-themed films such as Avargal (1977). The film won Haasan his first Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. In 1976, Haasan appeared in the drama Moondru Mudichu with Rajinikanth and Sridevi, another K. Balachander film, Manmadha Leelai, and Oru Oodhappu Kan Simittugiradhu, which won him his second consecutive Best Actor Award. 16 Vayathinile won him his third consecutive award, where he appeared as an mentally ill villager, once again alongside Rajinikanth and Sridevi. The fourth consecutive award came with Sigappu Rojakal in which he appeared as an anti-hero who is a psychopathic sexual killer. In the late seventies, Haasan appeared in other films such as the comedy Ninaithale Inikkum and the horror film, Neeya.
Till 1985, Haasan began to appear in more Hindi language films , including Saagar, for which he was awarded both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Best Supporting Actor Award, making him the first actor to win both awards for a single film.Saagar portrayed him alongisde Rishi Kapoor both of whom were pinning for a woman, but Haasan ultimately loses out. Haasan also appeared in Geraftaar. He featured in Tamil cinema's first sequel Japanil Kalyanaraman, which followed up his previous, Kalyanaraman as well as acting in Uruvangal Maralam co-starring Sivaji Ganesan and Rajinikanth.
In the mid-1980s, Haasan appeared in two Telugu language films, Sagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam with director, Kasinadhuni Viswanath. The latter film was India's representative for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1986.Whilst, the former film portrayed Haasan as a drunkard classical dancer, Swathi Muthyam portrays him as an autistic person attempting to change society. Following Punnagai Mannan, in which he portrays dual roles including a satire of Charlie Chaplin and Vetri Vizha as an amnesiac, Haasan appeared in Mani Rathnam's 1987 film Nayagan. Nayagan portrays the life of an underworld don in Bombay. The story revolves around the life of a real-life underworld don called Varadarajan Mudaliar, whilst sympathetically depicting the struggle of South Indians living in Mumbai. Haasan received a Indian National Award for his performance and Nayagan was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1987 as well as being included in the Time top 100 movies list. In 1988, Haasan appeared in his only silent film to date; appearing in the black comedy, Pushpak. In 1989, Haasan played a triple role in Apoorva Sagodharargal. The commercial film portrayed him in a role as a dwarf. He then attempted dual roles in Indru Chandru and its Tamil remake, winning the regional Best Actor Award for his performance.
The 1990s
Michael Madhana Kamarajan in 1991 saw Haasan go one step further, acting in four different roles as quadruplets, the film started an ongoing collabaration for comedy films between Haasan and Crazy Mohan, a dialogue writer. Haasan won successive best actor awards for his portrayal of the protagonist in Guna and in Thevar Magan, where he played the son of actor, Sivaji Ganesan. After films such as Singaravelan, Maharasan and Kalaignan; Haasan began to appear in comedies such as Sathi Leelavathi, based on the English film She-Devil, as well as renewing his collobaration with Kasinadhuni Viswanath in Telugu language film, Subha Sankalpam. In 1996, Haasan starred in the police story, Kuruthipunal. His success in Kuruthipunal, was followed by his third National Film Award for Best Actor in Indian. Playing dual roles of a freedom fighter and his untrustful son, the film also won Haasan regional awards and plaudits for his portrayal.
Haasan appeared as a woman in Avvai Shanmughi. In 1997, Haasan began his first directorial venture, the biopic of Mohammed Yusuf Khan, Marudhanayagam which failed to complete its schedules with only half an hour and a trailer being recorded during its shoot Haasan soon made his debut as director with a remake of Avvai Shanmughi in Hindi titled Chachi 420.
2000s: Hey Ram and onwards
Following a two-year hiatus in Indian cinema, Haasan opted against reviving his magnum opus, Marudhanayagam, and filmed his second directorial venture, Hey Ram, a period drama told in flashback with a semi-fictional plot centering around India's Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Haasan also took on roles as the writer, the lyricist and the choreographer as well as producing the film under his home banner. His following film was Aalavandhan, where he portrayed two distinct roles, for one of which he had his head tonsured and gained ten kilograms.
Following a series of comedies in Thenali, Panchathantiram and Pammal K. Sambandam and a couple of guest appearances, Haasan directed his third feature film in Virumaandi, a film about the death penalty. Haasan also appeared in Anbe Sivam alongside Madhavan. Priyadarshan, who started the film, departed allowing commercial director Sundar C to complete the film. Anbe Sivam told the story of Nallasivam, enacted by Haasan as an idealist, social activist and communist. Kamal Haasan's performance was highly lauded by critics with The Hindu stating that Haasan "has once again done Tamil cinema proud".
Haasan appeared in the remake film Vasool Raja alongside Sneha. In 2006, Haasan's long delayed project, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu emerged. Gautham Menon's Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu was Haasan's first cop film since Kuruthipunal. In 2008, Haasan delivered Dasavathaaram playing ten roles. Pairing opposite Asin Thottumkal, Haasan reprises ten roles in the film. Currently, prior to Marmayogi, Haasan is producing and starring in a quick venture, titled Unnaipol Oruvan, co-starring him with Mohanlal in Tamil and Venkatesh in Telugu which is said to mark Haasan's fiftieth year of acting. Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruthi Haasan is the music composer of Unnaipol Oruvan. The movie got released in both the languages on September 18 2009 and received hit talk. The movie got good response from all the released centers.
ULAGA NAYAGAN..ALWAYS GREAT
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