VISITOR COLUMN

Kamal Haasan’s films always run into trouble of some sort. The latest to hop onto that bandwagon is Ramesh Aravind’s Uttama Villain.

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has called for a ban on Uttama Villain, claiming that the film will affect the religious sentiments of Hindu people. The flagrant facet of the film seems to have been the song Iraniyan Naadagam, that charters a conversation between Hiranyakashyapu and Prahalad, which the VHP has claimed has hurt sentiments of Hindus.

In a recent interview with Arnab Goswami on Times Now, Kamal Haasan clarified that the lyrics of the songs were as per the mythological routes traced for those characters. He said staunchly that he will not make any cuts to the film- cuts demand by any outfit. He said that he is obliged to the Censor Board alone, and also mentioned that they had been extremely helpful and had liked the film.

What seems precedent for this case seems to be Vishwaroopam, which was in a grey area for such a long time and had to harbour serious doubts about its release. Kamal Haasan had to give in and make a few cuts, but he says that that will not materialize with Uttama Villain.

What seems uncanny is how these religious groups pop up when one of Kamal Haasan’s films is to be released and then create a hullabaloo- time and time again.

Some theories are afloat that it is all a marketing strategy, to get the film more attention. But honestly, does a Kamal Haasan film need to steep so low to get that sort of publicity?

Spoilers Ahead

Maybe Kamal Sir should try a sip of Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda. In the film, the protagonist Siddharth takes a film about a don in Madurai (Bobby Simha); while the impression is that the film is a gangster film, it is in fact a spoof. That cat is let out of the bag only during the film’s release. Simha doesn’t know that, nor do his goons, nor do the public. They know about the actual plotline of the film only at the time of the film’s release.

Seeing that Kamal Haasan’s films always run into trouble before the time of release, it would help if his films are not paraded around as something else, something that is “not inflammatory to any group”; suddenly announce the release date; release the soundtrack just a few days before the film releases; then watch as the magic unfolds.

Many may say that without ample promotion and marketing, can a film survive with such a sudden release? Well, we are talking about Kamal Haasan’s films here- his films and the music do not need elaborate promotion. Like the Pied Piper’s tune that led the children of Hamelin to his own realm, Kamal Haasan’s films and music will traverse their own hypnotic and mellifluous tune that will have our attention, with or without promotion.

Catch my point?