Greatness is not just about ... Dr. Kamal Haasan

Jack of all trades and master of many, may be all.’ If this is true of any one person it has to be the one and only - Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan. Greatness is not just about how good you are, it is about how good you continue to be over years and decades, that separates the good from the great. Greatness is about being in the right place, doing the right things and living a life that puts the pursuit of perfection at the top of all priorities. If this is greatness then Kamal Haasan is surely one of the greatest that cinema has seen and will ever see. As his glowing 50 year celluloid life is poised to hit a crescendo, ready to shine at its brightest, we thought about taking all Kamal fans back in time- from the days of the toddler in Kalathur Kannamma, through the young lad learning the nuances of bharathanatyam, the assistant dance director, the beginner, the star, the master, the director, the producer, the visionary- all the way to Universal Star. Retracing the steps that took the boy from Paramakudi to the pinnacles of celluloid perfection; Kamal-the making of a legend

Some say, ‘legends are born’. Others beg to differ, they say ‘legends are made’. When each person is born they are nothing but a mound of earth waiting to be molded, a stone waiting to be cut to diamond, a sapling waiting to be tended. Destiny chooses few among us to mold, cut and tend to greatness. Kamal Haasan was one such chosen by the hands of time to be shaped to hold greatness, not as an ornament or an attainment but as a way of life. What sets Kamal apart from other greats is that his greatness neither precedes him nor follows him, it is a part of him. Each time he performs it is not his reputation that speaks, it is that performance which is perfection personified. He does not rest on laurels nor lives in the past, he strives to construct monuments through each frame, each shot and each movie. Everyone has but one masterpiece but Kamal is one whose career is strewn with masterpieces. ‘Masterpiece-ing’ is just another day in the office for him and now he awaits us with another masterpiece which we believe will outdo, outclass and outshine all masterpieces that have been put before us in the past.

Dasavatharam is almost here and it might be the most appropriate time to revel in the genius of Kamal. But this is not just about Dasavatharam or any one movie. Dasavatharam or not, all that has been said above about Dr. Kamal Haasan holds true. It is not about 10 roles or one big movie, it is about the dedication of one man to what he does, the pursuit of excellence that made him the legend.