Happy Birthday Kamal Haasan: 20 unfulfilled dreams of Ulaganayagan that we wish came true for the sake of Indian cinema
Kamal, during his illustrious career, has worked on a substantial number of projects, which never reached the editing table. We do a comprehensive report on the same, on the occasion of his 67th bday.
Telugu director Tatineni Rama Rao started working on a film titled Khabardar in 1984, which was a social drama centred upon a terminally ill patient and a doctor.
Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan worked on Khabardar which revolved around the notion of euthanasia. However, after shooting a substantial portion of the film, it was shelved.
In the mid-1980s, Muktha Srinivasan planned to direct a film based on the iconic The Godfather (1972), starring Kamal in the lead.
Muktha signed up Sivaji as Kamal's dad and Amala as Kamal's pair. However, the project was dropped after a few days of shoot after Kamal's mentor Ananthu felt that it would be a Sivaji -focussed film
In the late 80s, Bharathiraja and Kamal collaborated for a project, titled Top Takkar. The film went on floors and 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of film roll was canned
Top Takkar, which also starred Radha, was shelved after a month's shoot as Bharathiraaja felt it was shaping up to be very similar to his earlier film with Kamal, Sigappu Rojakkal (1978).
In the early 1990s, Kamal Haasan approached Gangai Amaran to direct a film titled Athi Veerapandiyan starring Kamal Haasan in the lead role.
Aishwarya was signed to play the heroine in the film, based on the heritage of Jallikattu. However Kamal Haasan later opted out of the film and instead began work on another rural drama, Thevar Magan
In 2016, Gangai Amaran alleged that his brother Ilaiyaraaja had effectively told Kamal Haasan to stop working on the project, during an ego clash between the two brothers.
Mani Ratnam recently revealed in an interview that he worked on a script for adapting Ponniyin Selvan novel along with Kamal Haasan in the early 90s. Kamal, incidentally had the rights for the novel.
Kamal and Ratnam later shelved their dream project - the Ponniyin Selvan adaptation - as the project did not make financial sense at the time.
Balachandra Menon wanted to remake his Malayalam film Ammayane Sathyam in Tamil. After Kamal Haasan came on board to do the remake titled Kanden Seethaiyai, singer SPB was signed up for another role.
The team initially approached Annie, who starred in the original as a girl who disguises herself as a boy. As she refused, Kannada actor, Ruchita Prasad, was signed up under the stage name Jayasandhya
The makers abandoned the project due to creative differences. It was later alleged that Kamal Haasan had wanted his role to be more prominent than the character Mukesh played in the original version.
Kamal Haasan subsequently took the core idea of a woman disguising as man, and went on to work on Avvai Shanmughi, retaining several members of the cast of Kanden Seethaiyai for the KS Ravikumar film.
Ladies Only, a remake of the Tamil film Magalir Mattum, is yet to get a release for unknown reasons. Produced by Kamal Haasan, the film stars Seema Biswas, Shilpa Shirodkar and Heera Rajagopal.
While Randhir Kapoor played the lecherous boss of the three women - the character played by Nassar in the original - Kamal reprised Nagesh's role as the cadaver of a terrorist.
Kamal was wanting to make a historical film for nearly five years then, when writer Sujatha suggested that he read a folk ballad edited by Tamil scholar Vanamamalai.
The ballad introduced Kamal to Muhammed Yusuf Khan, an 18th-century warrior who fought against the British. Kamal felt that the warrior's life had all the potential to be adapted into a historical.
Writer Sujatha had claimed that 80% of the film would faithfully adapt Samuel Charles Hill's biography of Khan, also known as Marudhanayagam, and logical fiction would be used to fill in grey areas.
A pilot film was shot much before principle cinematography began - a first for Indian cinema. The short video was reportedly made on a budget of 1.5 crores (equivalent of 12 crores in 2019).
Haasan managed to rope in Queen Elizabeth II, who usually stays away from social events, to appear as the chief guest at the launch of the prestigious project which happened at the MGR Film City.
Kate Winslet was reportedly offered the lead female role of Marsha, but the actress was apprehensive of acting in a foreign language. Haasan subsequently signed a French débutante for the role.
Michael Westmore, a popular make-up artist from Hollywood, best known for his work in various Star Trek productions, was signed as the chief make-up artist for a record remuneration.
Marudhanayagam’s music was to be a collaborative effort between Ilaiyaraaja and legendary English composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Carnatic singer S. Subbalakshmi was also roped in for a special song.
Production suddenly ceased after a British company that had planned to co-produce the film backed out. Kamal had invested ₹ 8 crores for the pre-production, and the scenes that were shot.
Kamal Haasan had written the script of Londonil Kameshwaran immediately after Michael Madana Kamarajan's release, and the film was supposed to be a comical spin off on the Kameshwaran character.
As the script entailed placing Kameshwaran in funny situations when he visits London, Kamal never got down to making it as he felt it would not have been cost-effective.
The project ultimately got made in 2003 under Haasan's production house with the title of Nala Damayanthi, starring Madhavan. London was changed to Australia for budget reasons.
Shankar in 2001 announced an ambitious sci-fi project, Robot, which was to be written by Sujatha, and feature Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta as the leads.
Robot was said to be a futuristic techno-thriller set in Chennai in 2200 AD. Despite the completion of a photoshoot, the project was shelved because of budget constraints and scheduling conflicts.
Robot was eventually revived in 2008 by Shankar and was released in 2010 as Enthiran, starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai.
In 2004, Kamal Haasan and Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao began work on a project titled Krishna Leela. The film was set to narrate the story of an individual called Krishna Das, and the women in his life.
Gautami was reported to feature alongside him in a leading role, in a proposed comeback, while Rohini and Vinodhini were also cast in Krishna Leela. The film was later dropped for unknown reasons.
In May 2004, Kamal was keen in making a Hindi and Tamil bilingual women-centric film titled Kumara Sambhavam with director Singeetham.
Kamal signed up Madhuri Dixit for the female lead, stating he needed a 'woman of substance who would look convincing as a wife and mother' and added there was 'no second choice' for the role.
Bollywood producer Bharat Shah was set to finance Kumara Sambhavam. The film was shelved after Madhuri quoted a salary, which was more than the estimated production cost of the film.
Kamal Haasan, Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao and Ramesh Aravind discussed the script of a film titled KG in early 2004. The film was said to be a 'cop thriller' to be shot in Tamil and Kannada.
In a turn of events, Kamal Haasan started shooting for Vasool Raja MBBS, and put KG on hold. He later continued to work on KG, but was again infinitely postponed.
After a 4-year sabbatical from directing films since Virumaandi (2004), Kamal announced Marmayogi, a bilingual Hindi-Tamil period film, set in the 7th century.
Pyramid Saimira along with Raaj Kamal Films were set to produce the venture. Work began in late 2007. Reports suggested a likely box-office battle between Marmayogi and Rajinikanth's Enthiran.
Pre-production on the film continued throughout 2008, during which Kamal grew a long, thick beard for the film. He also cast Mohanlal, Venkatesh, Trisha and Shriya in pivotal roles.
Kamal held a photoshoot at the AVM Studios in August 2008 alongside Trisha. Following the failure of Rajinikanth's Kuselan, Pyramid Saimira opted out of Marmayogi and the project was shelved.
In mid-2008, Kamal Haasan started work on an Indo-Japanese production titled 19 Steps, to be directed by Bharat Bala. The film was written by Malayalam scriptwriter, M. T. Vasudevan Nair.
Asin was signed up for 19 steps, which was set to tell the tale of a Samurai warrior trying to conquer the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu. Kamal was to play an Indian martial arts guru.
Preproduction work started for 19 steps after Walt Disney Studios came forward to produce the film. 12 days before the film began shoot, Kamal Haasan dropped out and the film was subsequently shelved.
In mid-2009, Kamal Haasan wanted to work with Mysskin on a film about Buddha. The team was rumoured to be considering two titles for the film - The Tooth of Buddha and 500 BC.
Kamal travelled to the United States to seek out production companies who were willing to fund the big-budget film, but no studio eventually agreed. Mysskin was then forced to drop the project.
In late 2012, Hollywood producer Barrie Osborne wanted to make an English film in association with Kamal Haasan, who would direct the project and feature in the lead role.
Kamal subsequently announced a project titled Moo in February 2013, to be produced by Osborne. The film was said to be about three lives.
A potential English title of Triple Impact was speculated, while other sources titled the film as Yaavarum Kelir, with an English title of All Are Kin. The project later failed to develop.
In Nov 2015, Kamal and Malayalam filmmaker T. K. Rajeev Kumar announced that they were working on a family drama script, to be titled Amma Appa Vilayattu in Tamil.
After talks with Sridevi failed to materialise, Kamal cast Amala Akkineni and Zarina Wahab and announced that the film would be shot entirely in the US. with schedules in New York and Georgia.
Amma Appa Vilayattu was later postponed and by early 2016, Kamal Haasan chose to collaborate with Rajeev Kumar on a different project that he had written himself, Sabaash Naidu.
Kamal Haasan developed a Dasavaratham spin-off featuring Balram Naidu, the RAW operative, titled Sabaash Naidu. T. K. Rajeev Kumar was handed directorial duties.
Co-produced by Raaj Kamal Films and Lyca Productions, the film was launched in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Shruti Haasan was selected for a acting role, while Akshara joined the project as an AD.
Team Sabaash Naidu commenced the shoot in Los Angeles, California in June 2016. Kamal took over as the director, after Rajjeev Kumar fell sick in the US.
In July 2016, Kamal Haasan fractured his leg after falling at his home in Chennai, with the incident leading to an indefinite delay of the project. The film was subsequently shelved.
The Oscars: 7 Kamal Haasan films have been submitted to the Oscars on behalf of India. But none of them could make it to the final list of nominations in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category.
