Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan will be off to USA to shoot for his movie 'Sabaash Naidu' from 14 May, which obviously means he will not be in town on election day.
But he reasoned that "Anyway, my name was not in the electoral list last time. I have to re-check this time. Let me then decide on casting my vote." However, the actor urged his fans to exercise their franchise without fail, but of their own volition.
"When they come to our welfare association office, they can leave behind all their political tags and be together to serve society."
It was a hectic Friday for Kamal Haasan as he chose to kickstart his next movie in three languages simultaneously today. Produced by Raj Kamal Films International in association with Lyca International, the movie has music by Ilayaraja and brings together Sruthi Haasan and Kamal Haasan for the first time on screen.
Speaking at the media briefing after a formal inauguration at Nadigar Sangam grounds, Kamal Haasan, said, "It is a comedy-action-thriller and Balram Naidu of Dasavatharam fame is back. Sruthi plays his daughter." A major portion of the movie will be shot in USA and the rest in India, he added.
A known rationalist, Kamal Haasan was asked about using a caste name in his title. Pat came his reply: "Let the street names shed their religious affiliation in our towns and cities first. And Kamal Haasan had done it long back. See it as a cinema and let’s not add any caste colour to it."
It is more about Balram Naidu and his heroics; it’s his personal story and we found the title appropriate, added Kamal Haasan.
On joining hands with Ilayaraja after 11 years (their last outing being Virumandi), he said, "He is like my brother and I know what he is capable of. He is scoring music for all the three languages. And thanks to his magnanimity, we are planning to collaborate with a popular music band from USA for better audio output."
Asked why Sruthi Haasan was picked, the ‘proud’ father says, "It was not an overnight decision. She was put through the grind. She proved her worth as an actress and grabbed this opportunity thanks to her hard work."
"And my younger daughter Akshara Haasan is one of the assistant directors of the movie and I know how nervous she must be now to get all things right ‘as I was once the same a few years ago when I worked under director K Balachander", he said.
On joining hands with Lyca, Kamal Haasan said, "They have been after me to revive my dream venture 'Marudhanayagam' for some time now. But I wanted to know what Raj Kamal is and what we are capable of. Hence, we chose them to be associated with Sabaash Naidu."
As a goodwill gesture, Lyca donated Rs one crore to Nadigar Sangam for constructing their own building on their association premises, while Kamal Haasan handed over Rs 2.50 lakh as rent for holding the launch of his movies today.
On asked about a few actors abstaining from the star cricket matches organised by Nadigar Sangam, he said, "I was there. And those who could not make it may have their own reasons. Let’s not politicise the issue."
Besides Kamal, director T K Rajeev, Lyca International’s Subashkaran, Sruthi Haasan and Akshara were present on the occasion. Title proposed by Ilayaraja
The title 'Sabaash Naidu' for Kamal Haasan’s film was given by maestro Ilayaraja, who joins hands with him after a gap of 11 years. And apparently, Bollywood actor Saurabh proposed the movie’s Hindi title. Kamal Haasan himself revealed this on social media. He wrote, "I found a simple and exciting title for my new trilingual. The Hindi title came from Saurabhji. The Tamizh from Ilayaraja (sic)."