Kamal Haasan will come as Ayyappan riding on a tiger this April - Event Story

How enthralling is it to be in a star-studded event led by the star of all stars Kamal Haasan! The Uttama Villain audio launch saw Kamal Haasan in his candid mode, clearly sending out the message that he treated this as a home event. There were a whole lot of personalities like Nassar, Lingusamy, Subash Chandra Bose, Luthfudeen Baasha, Pooja Kumar, Parvathi (second name removed as per her apparent request), Urvashi, Vijay Sethupathi, Vikram Prabhu, Ramesh Arvind, MS Bhaskar, Andrea, Parthiepan, Parvathi Nair, Poorna and many others at the Chennai Trade Center to commemorate the Trade Center of Tamil Cinema – Kamal Haasan, as Parthiepan (emcee of the event) suggested. The entire event was conducted in a very contemporary manner. 

 

Talking about being contemporary – it must be noted that there was no CD release at the end of the show. “CD is old fashion. It is just a thagudu as Sathyaraj calls it,” Kamal Haasan said when Lingusamy requested Kamal to do the honours of releasing the CD.

 

“What do we do instead?” Lingusamy asked

 

“People hardly buy CDs now. They comfortably download it. I am going to make the audio available online now.” Kamal replied and uploaded the songs online from his phone.

 

“But sir, somebody should receive the audio. That is how we have been organizing audio launches all these years.” Lingusamy requested.

 

Kamal had an idea for that as well. He took his mobile phone and called Shruti Haasan. 

 

“Bapujiii,” she said as soon as she answered the call. 

 

“Where are you?” Kamal asked

 

“I am in Mumbai and just heading out for dinner.”

 

Kamal requested her to turn on video call and as soon as she did that, she appeared in the huge AV screen in front of thousands.

 

“I have uploaded the songs of Uttama Villain. I want someone to receive it. I have sent you the link. Can you download it now?” Kamal asked.

 

Shruti, who was clearly confused, downloaded the audio. Tadaaa the audio was received.

 

“Bapuji, you remember I was talking to you about this guy?” Shruti began to speak.

 

“No, no, no. Wait!! There are thousands of people listening to you.” Kamal warned.

 

“Bapuji, you could have told me.” Shruthi said and signed off before making sure she said a big ‘vanakkam’ to the crowd listening to this conversation.

 

The show actually began with the recital of a touching letter that K Balachander had written about Kamal Haasan years ago. A few lines that were duly noted in the letter were,

 

“I did not discover Kamal. I only gave him the platform and the opportunity to discover himself. In the process, I was blessed enough to discover myself. Yes, I own Kamal yet he does not belong to me, he belongs to the world of Cinema.”

 

As soon as the letter was read, the screen split into two and in walked Kamal Haasan with tears welled up in his eyes. 

 

“Balachander ayya is my everything. If he was not there for me, I would have been a different Kamal Haasan altogether. I believe that I am him and I wish to take up the responsibilities that he left behind.” Kamal Haasan said.

 

The event also witnessed a few dance performances by Pooja Kumar, Parvathi Nair and Poorna and a song performance by Ghibran’s team for the song ‘Single kiskey love’a’, with the making visuals of the song being played at the background. A surprise element in the visuals was that, Kamal Haasan performs a series of rapid dance moves in a portion of the song that has some fast beats.

 

Nassar, MS Bhaskar, Parvathi, Pooja Kumar, Andrea, Lingusamy, Subash Chandra Bose and Ghibran were all extremely thankful to Kamal, when they got an opportunity to share their feelings on stage.

 

Nassar – “I was in the sets of Uttama Villain when I got news that my elder son met with an accident. Kamal sir asked me to leave immediately and in my one hour journey towards the hospital, he kept giving me updates on his health condition and asked me not to worry. 

 

I was so shattered and mentally upset. I wanted to go back to the sets so that I could divert my mind. Although Kamal sir asked me not to come for the shoot, I requested him to make me act so that I could be relieved. Kamal sir understood my situation and re-set up an entire set that he dismantled as I was not to be available for the next few days. I sincerely thank him for all that he did for me.” He said with tears rolling down his cheeks.

 

MS Bhaskar was full of words when he spoke about Kamal and his comedy sense. He highlighted a witty comment that Kamal made when he was asked about a particular bald make-over that Kamal wore.

 

“Kamal sir pointed at my bald head and said – ‘idhu kaalam’ and pointed at his own bald head and said – ‘idhu kolam’. Such is the timing sense of this legend.”

 

Ramesh Arvind, the director of the film was keen on thanking Kamal Haasan for the opportunity and the trust he had on him. 

 

“Uttama Villain will have two extremes. On one side you will see a superstar in the 20th century with multiplexes and modern life. On the other side you will see a folk artist of the 8th century with a King and a Queen. There is a thematic link between these two extreme eras.” He said

 

“The tiger is coming this April and Kamal Haasan will come as Ayyappan riding on the tiger.”

Ghibran, the humble young man who composed the sensational music for Uttama Villain was keen to mention that it was Kamal Haasan's experience and perfect briefing that helped him give a good output.

"Kamal sir's voice has got a huge range. I therefore did not have set any restrictions or limitations to the notes when I composed."

 

The audiences also managed to catch a glimpse of the videos of two songs –‘Kaadhalam kadavul mun’ and ‘Iraniyan Nadagam’

 

Kaadhalam is set in a rich gold theme along with Pooja Kumar’s lovely dance moves amid a set of other dancers. The song also features Nassar attired as a King in red and green clothes, with long curly hair. Kamal Haasan is also portrayed in the song in his 8th century make over. 

 

Iraniyan Nadagam is a stage play portraying the Theyyam art form.  Kamal and Pooja are featured in this song in their heavy makeovers. The song will definitely be a visual treat for us, with Kamal Haasan flying up in the air and spitting out fire from his mouth.

 

The trailer, the mind blowing behind the scenes visuals, the song glimpses that kept the audiences awestruck and a very confident Uttama Villain team, send out a strong statement that there are going to be tremors at the theaters this April.

 

Good luck to the team.

 

- Abhishek Krishnan

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