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The all-in-one film man talks about his new venture Abhay, in which he plays a split personality
By B. Krishnakumar/Chennai
Clad in a transparent T-Shirt, workman's jeans and a hat, Kamal Hasan could easily be mistaken for a unit hand as he sits outside the make-up rooms of Prasad Studios. He looks more like a body-builder with his biceps, rather than the creative heavyweight that he really is.
The actor-director-producer-scriptwriter is reading a novel even as the next shot is being readied for his latest film Abhay, in which he plays a split personalityÑa genius, a psychopath and an evil person, all rolled into one.
Excerpts from an interview:
What is Abhay about?
This was a novel I wrote about 17 years ago. At that time it was bizarre and offbeat.
Ahead of its time?
I won't say that. It's twenty years later than Psycho. It was not ahead of its time, but it was in Tamil.
Was it your first novel?
It was my first big novel. I had written short stories and screenplays, but never attempted a novel. One of my friends pushed me to do it. It was for a weekly magazine and I wrote for about 36 weeks.
What is the title of the novel?
Dayam. It's about an intellectual caught within the confines of paranoid schizophrenia, who is also a psychopath, and is left in an asylum. Luckily for me, it was published. Otherwise they would say that I picked up directly from Hannibal Lectre by Thomas Harris. It came at least seven years before Hannibal.
You didn't think of making it into a movie?
We tried. In fact, I wanted it to become a vehicle for me after Ek Duje Ke Liye. But my mentor, Balachander, found it sort of an action-violence and a mindscape kind of film. He was more into romance and social statements. I was a bit dejected and packed it away. Since it was written as a novel, it made good reading, but did not necessarily make a great screenplay.
I then wrote the screenplay for Abhay and added more cinematic stuff because the novel explains schizophrenic demons, the ingenuity of the man, the psychopath, the modus operandi of the criminal and a parallel tracking with a detective story going on the side.
Is it a thriller?
Yes, but there is also a tragic story of child abuse. All that is interwoven. Similar to Ann Frank's Diary, in the film it is the brother who finds the diary and through it discovers the human being in the man he considered an animal. He slowly accepts his schizophrenic brother for who he is. Many symbols like a double-headed snake with a single body, the flip of a coin are used in the film... portraying the typical, revolutionary double image.
Who took the decision to make the film, you or the director?
Actually, it was the director [Suresh Krissna]. I casually mentioned to him that I had once written a novel, and felt it was outdated. Then he said, 'can I read it?' I sent it to him.
Abhay is based on a novel I wrote 17 years ago. It is about an intellectual caught within the confines of paranoid schizophrenia, who is also a psychopath, and is left in an asylum.
It was a tedious process because I had it translated to English; the director cannot read Tamil fluently. Then I realised that somebody else translating it would not do. So I wrote the synopsis for him. It was a good exercise. I realised its potential, and the director felt the same.
You would be doing what the director tells you-playing a character you conceived?
We have a strange working relationship. He started his career as assistant director in Ek Duje Ke Liye, my 101st film. Now this is my 201st film; he is directing it. Our company, Rajkamal Films, introduced him as a director with his debut film Satya.
We work together, not as separate individuals. So it was all the time discussing, throwing back and forth ideas. As for developing the character, he leaves it to me because he thinks I am a better actor. We always discuss the technicalities and we have brilliant technicians working for us. That is what makes it exciting.
Are all of them from Chennai?
Sameer Chanda, the art director, is from Bengal-Mumbai. He is a discovery for us, and has an extraordinary talent for art direction. It is a very demanding film as there are a lot of mindscapes. Within realistic situations, he slips into schizophrenic alleys and pseudo-realism.
Thiru, who proved himself in Hey Ram!, is the cinematographer. Stunt coordinator Vikram Dharmaseelan, who initially came to assist, is now doing it on his own. He is among the best in the Indian film industry. It is a very demanding action film. There is a lot of American football-like violence, without pads.
You shot it entirely in Chennai?
We wanted to do it in various locales like Delhi, Kashmir and Ooty, and we did but couldn't entirely capture the Delhi winters. I had a small accident, so we had to come back.
We then created the winter of Delhi in certain places astoundingly; we now wish that we had done five-six days of shooting in Delhi instead of 30 days. That is thanks to Chanda and the cinematographer.
What is the cost of the film?
It is something like death itself. We don't talk about it, it is an enormous budget. We didn't anticipate this much. It's costlier than Hey Ram! Without my remuneration, that film cost me Rs 11.5 crore.
Are the distributors interested?
Yes, in [Chennai] they buy it on my name. We don't show the rushes, they trust us. When they see and hear about the kind of interest I show in a film, they feel something good might happen.
Finally, we don't know, it depends on the audience.
It is said you talk, eat and sleep films.
It's what even a coolie does. Every job should be like that. I am quite surprised at people being surprised at that attitude because there is no other attitude to take.
Are you working on any other film?
I have just completed a script and it is a comedy with Crazy Mohan, Mouli and myself. It is a good working trio. The film is called Pammal K. SamandamÑ Pammal is the name of the place and K. Samandam is his name, Kalyana Samandam actually. A chronic bachelor who doesn't want to get married but suddenly late in life he decides to do so.
Any Hindi film?
K.S. Ravikumar and I are planning a double version [in Tamil and in Hindi] again. It will be a costly film, so I told him to hold on, think about it.
You will be acting in it?
Yes, Ravikumar, director of Tenali, is directing for one of my producers. Mani Ratnam and I are discussing something for Hindi and Tamil, but nothing concrete has come up.
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