Rin Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu – Oru Thodarum Sarithiram
“Kamal Haasan” – the name personifies uniqueness, hard work, dedication and exceptional creativity. His journey in filmdom began with the film “Kalathur Kanamma” at the age of five; and now after 50 years; there is no stopping him. He has not only proved himself to be a versatile actor; the star has excelled in the many roles of film making such as script writer, director, producer, singer among others.
Vijay TV, the exclusive television channel nominated to celebrate the 50 years of Kamal Haasan in its own exclusive way is to launch a spate of events in the next 6 weeks. The celebrations titled “Rin Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu – Oru Thodarum Sarithiram” will witness activities across the state. This exclusive event will be one of its kind ever attempted for any star and will be carried out in various phases.
PHASE 1:
To begin the proceedings, a customized “Kamal Bus” would traverse the state; attracting all his thousands of fans. This bus would visit the film trade centers and fan clubs in Tamilnadu and Bengaluru. An exclusive photo exhibition with rare and never seen before photographs from Kamal Haasan’s life will be on display on this bus. Apart from the photo exhibition, the fans, technicians and artists will sign the huge scroll that would be presented to the star. The bus leaves from Chennai and travels to Chengalpet, Pudhucheri, Villupuram, Perambalur, Tiruchi, Madurai, Paramakudi, Tuticorin, Thirunelvelli, Nagercoil, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Bengaluru, Thirupathur, Vellore and Kanchipuram over a period of 12 days.
PHASE 2 – Iyal Isai Nadaga Thiruvizha
This will be a festival that celebrates the three forms of Tamil language at three key locations in Tamilnadu i.e. Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai.
Thamizhum Kamalum – Madurai
“Thamizhum Kamalum” event would be held at Madurai. This would be a literary discussion featuring eminent personalities from the field of Tamil literature. While the scholars speak on how the veteran actor has made use of literature in most of his films wisely; his fans group & the commoners would come up with their own interpretation of Kamal Haasan’s contribution to the language. Kamal Haasan’s perfection and attention to detail when it comes to using various Tamil dictions in his films would be highlighted. The use of Bharathiyaar poems in “Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu” to Abirami Andadadhi in “Guna” & from playing a Srilankan Tamil in “Thenali” to the American “Dasavatharam” Kamal Haasan has done it all. Watch out for this gripping discussion which is interspersed with interesting anecdotes.
Kamalum Kaadhalum – Coimbatore
Kovai would witness a grand musical nite “Kamalum Kaadahalum” which will feature some of most popular evergreen hits featuring Kamal Haasan. Many popular faces from the Tamil film & music industry would perform in front of a LIVE audience. The songs from most of Kamal Haasan’s movies have been chartbusters in every era. The theme of this event would be LOVE and songs depicting the various stages of love would be sung by legendary singers like S. P. Balasubramaniyam and Chitra. Also joining them would be popular playback singers Madhu Balakrishnan, Anuradha Sriram, S. P. Charan, Benny Dayal, Karthik, Vijay Yesudas, Suchithra, Madhumitha, Naveen, Haricharan, Ranjith, Rahul Nambiar and many others.
Kamal Haasan Film festival – Chennai
In Chennai, Vijay TV has planned to organize a Kamal Haasan film festival over 3 weeks in August-September in partnership with Sathyam Cinemas; showcasing some of his best movies ever.
Special On air episodes
Parallel to these on ground events at Coimbatore, Chennai and Madurai; the biography of Kamal Haasan will air on Vijay TV. This 16 episode series would talk about his childhood days as an actor, his first passion – the theatre and his life in cinema. With experiences narrated by his contemporaries and juniors of the past 50 years, the show will be an emotional & inspiring tale of Kamal Haasan – the phenomenon. Starts August 31, 2009; airing Monday – Thursday at 8pm.
PHASE 3 – the MEGA event at Chennai
This month long celebrations will culminate with a mega event in Chennai in the 2nd week of September. An evening to treasure, as the film stars of Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industry come together on one stage to salute the one & only Kamal Haasan. Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan himself will be present to witness the event and speak a few words to his ardent fans. Popular faces beginning from Big B and Super star Rajinikanth; other stars like Shahrukh Khan, Mamooty, Mohanlal, Sridevi, Chiranjeevi, Puneet Rajkumar, Jeyapradha, Hemamalini, Suryah, Ajith, Vijay., and many artists along with top notch technicians, would be a part of this grand event witnessed by a 7,000 strong audience. With performances by legends of the music industry and dance performances by leading actors from the Tamil industry, this would be a night to cherish. The event would be split into five parts, each representing a decade of Kamal Haasan’s films.
In consultation with the legend, a core team has been set up that will monitor the celebrations. The core team has legendary director K. Balachander, actor Sivakumar, actor / producer – Sarath Kumar, Member of Parliament Napolean, directors – A.R. Murugadoss and Myshkin, actors Kushboo and Jaimala, playback singer / producer – S.P. Charan, film critics Madan and Yugi Sethu.
The advertising fraternity has already expressed great interest in associating with these celebrations; many partners like logistics (KPN Travels), hospitality (The Accord Metropolitan) and multiplex (Sathyam Cinemas) have already been roped in. With huge promotional plans across various mediums; this would surely be an event to watch out for.!
Kamal Haasan speaks “these 50 years in cinema is not a single man’s achievement. There are many people in my life who have been an inspiration in making these 50 years happen; this is a team effort. I’m thankful to my producers who have believed in me and my work. I will always be grateful to AVM Chettiar, Shanmugam Annachi, Iyakunar Sigaram K.Balachander and many others who have always been my strength and watched out for me through these years. These 50 years would come in any person’s life; but it was Vijay TV that first presented this concept and was determined to celebrate this in a grand manner.“
He adds, “It gives me great honor that most of my friends from the industry are present here today to address the media. They are the people who always speak well of me even in my absence; and have been a source of support through my failures. Their willingness to be a part of this event gives me great pleasure. Only now, I would have to make myself worthy of all the nice things that they have said or would tell about me in this forum; and I will take this as my responsibility. This isn’t humility; but my true self.”
“My friends, directors, producers and fans who have attended the meet today have always been with me giving me strength, guiding and protecting me; and a major contribution of this comes from the media. Vijay TV has also been a part of my life, they have been good critics and I am indebted to all of you for this” he adds.
“This is not the zenith of my life, but it is an incident that has happened without my realizing it. Suddenly, when faced with the question on these 50 years; I am telling the truth when I say I search for an answer. There is a lot more for me to achieve and I will take this as morning alarm to shake me up and continue my work; I would not think of this as an evening… thank you” he concludes.
