I suffered being an idealist: Kamal

Kamal Haasan bounces back in Telugu with a sensational hit Dasavatharam.

He claims to have consciously dished out an entertainer to reach out to a wider section of the audience rather than chasing critical acclaim. His ten roles reflect the varied shades of human mind unlike the mythological Dasavatharam. He quotes Emmanuel Kant for a peaceful life and describes his next Marmayogi as a periodic epic. Excerpts from an interview :

You succeeded in winning audience appreciation but you seem to have disappointed some critics? Unlike mythological Dasavatharam, it seems that your ten roles reflect varied shades of human mind?
From the outset we had resolved to reach out to wider section of the audience and our confidence stands vindicated. We consciously overlooked the views of so-called pundits to churn out an entertainer. Again my belief that the audience would definitely patronise anything unique has been strengthened and actually they have raised the bar of expectations. We intended to explore shades of complex human mind. Haven't we seen a baddy like Fletcher, idealist, activist and even a fun-making cop around us. Apparently even the audience related to the real-life characters making it a success. I would have made some mistakes in the film but I will keep committing them since we don't possess sure-fire formula for success. I wanted the film to be more like a 'cocktail discussion'.

You were cynical about tyrant rulers, nature's design to evaporate vial with tsunami and re-uniting soul-mates?
Instead of individuals, I was more cynical about the rulers' obsession to force their fanatic ideas upon their subjects. Because social revolution cannot happen overnight and sometimes it could take few generations to achieve it. So saint Mahavir's ‘Live and let live' idea remains the best approach. Coming to resolution, instead of being so cruel, nature could have chosen a wiser option to end the bio-menace. Re-uniting soul-mates after making them go through tough times and death of idealistic activist is part of its crude design.

Do you suggest that idealistic people cannot survive in the world? How can the world be peaceful then?
That’s true. It is very difficult for an idealist to survive in this selfish world until he develops a strong instinct to live. Personally, I suffered being an idealist but I am alive because of my daunting spirit. It is difficult but not impossible. Even Jesus was crucified before his thoughts were clearly understood. For a peaceful world, philosopher Emmanuel Kant’s thoughts can be remembered "Extract maximum pleasure from the earth with minimum pain to it and its inhabitants'. Even our epics had pragmatic thoughts but interpreters twisted it serving us 'bottled juice' and not a fresh one.

Can you elaborate on your next film Maramayogia?
It’s too early to divulge more details except for describing it as a '7th century periodic epic' in a nutshell. The big-budget entertainer will be a feast for all sections of the audience. It will go on floors from August.

Courtesy: timesofindia.com