ong after I finished reading the book, the first chapter remains my favorite. Little Kamal steals your heart. His family, more so. Their progressive roots, the unconditional support of his mother and sister, and of course, the genesis of his artistic career, arising from his father Srinivasan’s shattered childhood dream of becoming a musician, who vowed to raise all his children on an artistic path – all makes for riveting reading. Here is proof that a person’s greatness in life often is a result of great parenting. Countless unseen hands are responsible for the rise of every artistic genius, starting from the man and the woman who sired them, and Kamal is no exception.

However, if you picked this book based on the first chapter, brace yourself: the opening pages that sang to you like your fond grandma with her engaging, endearing voice suddenly, drastically become analytical and academic from Chapter 2. I was left unsure at this point, as the prose started resembling a film review column featuring the author’s interviews with veteran director (also Kamal’s guru and mentor, by his own admission), wondering: Am I reading KB’s biography? Where is my Kamal Haasan?

Thankfully, the book – a collection of chronological essays, rather – regains its ground from the next chapters and re-captures your interest again, once you realise the real journey of the book: a self-styled quest to provide a critical look at the most significant movies of the legendary actor, from Kalathur Kannamma to Vikram/Indian 2, with each essay containing quotes and anecdotes from Nammavar himself. Facts that you probably have never heard of before (for eg; Kamal hated school and was “nearly illiterate”) are presented straight from the horse’s mouth, and sometimes through others’; the credit goes to the author for meticulously documenting his long association with both Kamal Haasan and the moviemakers who have worked with Ulaganayan.

There is much to admire about Kamal Haasan: A Cinematic Journey. Go into its pages as a serious movie buff or an aspiring film critic, and you will enjoy the interviews, perspectives and hard work by author K. Hariharan, an experienced writer and director himself who touches an impressive number of topics, ranging from: a bird’s eye view of Tamil cinema history from the 1970s and its tumultuous, irresistible liaison with politics; several comparative analysis of Kamal’s movies with national and global fare; storytelling process and patterns from studio history of yesteryears, showcasing iconic names both in front of and behind the camera; and a bold, sure-to-raise-your-eyebrow level analysis of the most popular Kamal movies. Extra marks for sheer audacity!

The best kind of audacity is daring to think differently, which defines Kamal Haasan’s entire discography. Even if you are (understandably) not a fan of retcon culture and find the parallels stretched too thin, the author’s continued insistence on connecting almost every Kamal movie to the political upheaval/unrest/shocker of the decade, eventually becomes interesting, or at least interesting enough to keep reading. As long as you are not a die-hard fan expecting Kamal’s in-depth life biography or a breezy tone to keep you tenderly nostalgic and endlessly entertained, you should be fine.

Author: K Hariharan
Published by: Harper Collins
(July 2024)