KAMAL HAASAN SAYS HE REFUSED SHANKAR’S GENTLEMAN, ASKED HIM TO CHANGE THE STORY: ‘I DIDN’T LIKE THE MILITANCY OF A BRAHMIN BOY IN IT’
Director Shankar's Gentleman and Anniyan, though turned out to be box office hits, haven't aged well. Over the years, both films have faced criticism for many of their ideas and representations. Shankar's debut film Gentleman (1993) was criticized for showing an upper caste boy dying by suicide after he fails to get a medical seat. In an old interview, Kamal Haasan cited the same problem about the film, and the actor revealed that he refused to do the film for the same reason.
In an old interview on the YouTube channel Touring Talkies, Kamal Haasan claimed that he doesn't do films that don't align with his ideology. When asked how he felt off the camera while doing Indian, Kamal said, "If I have differences of opinion and ideologies with films, I have said I can't do it and have steered away from projects. For example, initially, Shankar's Gentleman had a different story. It was about the militancy of a Brahmin boy. I said I can't do this and refused. I also asked him to change the story even if he was going to do it. And I realized that's what they had done."
Gentleman, starring Arjun, Madhubala, Vineeth, and Goundamani, is similar to many of Shankar's films, is about a vigilante, who robs from the corrupt politicians to build a free education institute for people. The vigilante is propelled by the death of his friend, who fails to get a medical seat despite getting high marks in the board exam. The film was criticised for indirectly hitting out on the reservation system.
In the interview, Kamal Haasan also spoke about his other hit film from the 90s, Indian. The actor revealed that he even had issues with the film, but cited that the people accepted it wholeheartedly. "As far as Indian goes, it dealt with problems I faced in my real life. You can't do a film without having a connection with its ideology. It will then become extremely difficult to get up early at 4 AM and go for shooting without eating. You can't do all that for a film that you don't like. Though I had a few issues with the film, I was sure that people would accept it. I found the tone of fascism was a bit high in the film. Other than that, I like the film. The film is a dream of many citizens--a hope that kind of justice is possible."
Currently, Kamal Haasan is working with Shankar again for the sequel of Indian 2, which has been in the making for a long time now. The film's teaser hints that Senapathy will return to haunt the lives of the corrupt. Actors Siddharth, Raku Preet Singh, and Priya Bhavani Shankar have played pivotal roles in the film, which will be released in June.
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2024-04-22T12:08:10Z dg43tfdfdgfd