A maestro's many faces

A new book deconstructs actor Kamal Haasan's rare combination of intellectual prowess and popular appeal

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey By K. Hariharan Published by HarperCollins Price ₹699; pages 260

At the Town Hall hosted by THE WEEK in 2017, actor Kamal Haasan was suave and articulate, as though stardom was second nature to him. The consummate performer in him dazzled, whether through his vast knowledge on everything from cinema to classical music (“I grew up listening to Muthusami Dikshithar’s [Vatapi Ganapatim] hymn as my mother loved Carnatic music”) or through the wit he deployed while fielding certain questions. As a journalist, I had for the last 25 years followed his career in cinema and politics, and his arduous efforts to nail roles which a lesser actor could not have pulled off. Yet, I had not had my fill of Haasan; the more you tried to untangle the enigma that was him, the more tangled you got. That is why I was eager to read a new book on him—Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey—by K. Hariharan.