When Kamal Haasan wanted to leave Bollywood, citing 'Black money' and 'too many underworld connections'

Kamal Haasan has worked his way up to the top of the ladder in earning his name as one of the top actors in the Indian industry, especially in the South. The actor has played all kinds of roles in many languages in his six-decade-long film career. However, after a brief stint in Bollywood, the actor stayed back in Kollywood.

Speaking about this in an interview with India Today in 2017, Kamal Haasan noted that he was a "poorer cousin of Hindi cinema" and the actors there were "spoilt and rich". "They could make one film for two and a half years and they could do 6 films at a time. I thought that was very defeating in character-building, both morally and technically speaking. That was one of the reasons," he shared.

Kamal Haasan further highlighted that there were many underworld connections and he didn't want to "oppose it or succumb to threats". "I was one of the actors to decide that I would not have anything to do with black money," he said and emphasised that he made it big in the industry without it. "I’m quite happy. I drove in a car. It is quite possible. Someone else did it earlier. Cameraman Vincent. He never touched black money. It was much before any government threatened him to not keep black money. My brother and I made that call," he added.

The actor made his Bollywood debut with Balachander's Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), which was a remake of his 1978 Telugu film Maro Charitra. His role in Ramesh Sippy's Hindi film Saagar (1985) was critically acclaimed. He also acted in Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), Yeh To Kamaal Ho Gaya (1982), Zara Si Zindagi (1983), Sadma (1983) which was a remake of Moondram Pirai (1982), Ek Nai Paheli, Raaj Tilak, Karishmaa (1984), Chachi 420 (1997) which was a remake of Avvai Shanmugi, Hey Ram (2000) and Mumbai Xpress (2005), among others.

Kamal Haasan is currently awaiting the release of Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, also starring Silambarasan, Trisha, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, and Rohit Saraf, among others, is slated for release in theatres on June 5.