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Kamal Hassan's name symbolizes experiments. A versatile actor par excellence, who refuses to be typecast, Kamal has been experimenting for more than three decades and it is his penchant for experiments that kept him going great guns.
He came to the film world at the age of four. His first film Kalathur Kannama won him President's Gold Medal. As a child and as a young artiste Bharatanatyam was his forte. He did choreography and small roles in a few movies in the 70s before K Balachander discovered him. K Balachander, who has discovered many talented new faces, gave him a big break in his offbeat movie Apoorva Ragangal and Kamal never looked back after that. Incidentally, Apoorva Ragangal was also a break for the other legendary hero of Tamil films, Rajnikant.
Apoorva Ragangal came at a time when Tamil filmdom was somehow feeling the void created by the non-appearance of veterans like Shivaji Ganeshan, M G Ramachandran, Gemini Ganeshan etc. who were wanting to acquire new realms in the political arena. Kamal, along with Ranjnikanth, aptly filled the gap.
It is difficult to chronicle the career path of a great actor who has spent more than 35 years in the industry. From rebellious hero (Apoorva Ragangal) to aging mafia don (Nayakan), from a desperate lover (Moondram Pirai) to grand old lady (Avvai Shanmukhi) Kamal has delineated varying roles with envying perfection that other actors can only dream. Amazing is his acting range. His skills in classical dance Bharatanatyam further honed his acting skills. Apart from the flexibility of body movements, he ability to bring about varying facial expressions coupled with perfect timing of dialogue delivery in a style of his own makes him an unique actor.
Always with an in-born inclination to explore newer vistas, Kamal couldn't have confined himself to Tamil films. He forayed into Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies to satiate his urge for newness. But it cannot be said that he savored his experience with Bollywood, though starred in super hits like Sadma, Sannam teri Kasam, Giraftaar, Saagar, Raj Tilak, Chachi 420, and he took a break from Bollywood. But after a long gap he reappeared in Bollywood in Chachi 420 a couple of years back and later in Hey Ram last year.
A number of times awards and recognition came to him. Kamal Hassan won National Award for best acting three times, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Sate awards twice each and innumerable Filmfare awards.
He was conferred the title Padmashree by the Government of India in the year 1990 and Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
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