Actor Kamal Haasan took to social media on Sunday to share details about one of his biggest projects, Dasavatharam, on the completion of 13 years of its release. Kamal, who played 10 roles in the movie and was on board as the writer, shared his thoughts in a Facebook post. He spoke about the production, making of the movie, the technical team, the make-up and music, among other things.
Recounting the pre-production phases, Kamal wrote how the script was declined by many directors citing that they didn’t understand the project and was finally taken up by director Ravikumar. “He immediately claimed it a winner on cards and was surprised that it was turned down (sic),” Kamal’s post read.
Elaborating on the ideation period, Kamal said that he consulted experts and members from the film fraternity, such as director Mukta Srinivasan, comedian and screenwriter Crazy Mohan, screenwriter Sujatha Rangarajan and others. “We had Mr Sujata, Mr Madhan, Mr Ramesh Arvind, Mr Crazy Mohan all sit with us for a narration and I answered all the questions they kept asking. It was a very important exercise as they are all experts and have the expertise to analyze the script,” Kamal noted.
Speaking about the movie’s production cost, Kamal recounted how producer Ravichandran was supportive of the director and writer’s vision. He cited instances such as spending 21 days in the US to do make-up tests for all the looks, deciding not to reveal the looks as promotion during the production phase, and about investing a crore to shoot the climax.
Kamal extended his gratitude to technicians, including art and stunt directors, who helped him achieve his vision. Kamal also gave due credit to veteran American make-up artist Michael Westmore. “Mr Westmore’s contribution to the film is equivalent to mine. Mr Westmore was the 11th Avatar of the film, without him the other 10 would not have been possible,” Kamal said. He thanked composer Himesh Reshammiya for delivering hit songs like ‘Mukunda Mukunda’ and ‘Kallai Mattum Kandal’.
Kamal concluded the post by reminiscing about the experiences and key takeaways from the project. “But going back on the memories now, Dasavatharam was a master class for me on every technical aspect. I can say I learnt democracy during the making of this film. The project would not have been possible with just me, or just Mr Ravikumar or Mr Ravichandran or just Mr Westmore. It is all of us together that made it happen,” Kamal stated.
The 2008 Tamil science fiction flick had a massive run at the box-office. Essaying 10 different roles in the movie, Kamal broke the record set by legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan in the 1964 Tamil movie Navarathri. Asin appeared in a dual role as Kodhai Radha (Nambi’s wife) and Andal. The film’s star cast also included Mallika Sherawat, Jaya Prada and comedian Nagesh, among others.