Kamal Hassan concerned over Nepal incidents

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 29. Mr. Kamal Hassan, cine actor, has expressed concern over the anti-Hrithik Roshan wave sweeping Nepal.

At a press conference here on Friday, he termed the developments there as unfortunate.

"Poor fellow (Hrithik Roshan)... The whole issue smacks of politics. It doesn't surprise me. As Nepalites are our neighbours, some of our foolishness might have rubbed off on them," he said.

The underworld's hold over Bollywood was not a new phenomenon, he observed. "It has been there for the past 15 years. It would be naive to believe that Mumbai has suddenly gone into the hands of the bandits."

He lamented the poor quality of contemporary Hindi films. "The main villains are those at the helm who do not know the ropes. Nor are they keen on learning."

He remembered the hue and cry over his earlier film, Hey Ram. "People misunderstood the film. In Calcutta, they pulled down its posters even before they saw it. It all began with the censors demanding some cuts. A woman politician even said the film should be banned. I spent 120 days making it, but it didn't run for even 90 days."

The actor said he was touched by the article penned by the Chief Minister, Mr. E. K. Nayanar, lauding Hey Ram.

Working in the Tamil comedy, Thenali, which he claimed as one of the biggest grossers of recent times, was "fun". "I and Jayaram were cracking jokes in between the shots. And the whole unit would be in splits. We had a jolly good time."

As the first in a series of programmes celebrating its success, the film was screened free for orphans here this afternoon. "The proceeds from today's shows in this theatre would go to various orphanages," Kamal Hassan said.

Why did he choose to act in Thenali after doing a serious role in Hey Ram? "I did Thenali mainly because it was a K. S. Ravikumar film. I knew his talent and was sure that he would spring a few surprises in the comedy."

After Ala Vanthan (Abhay, in Hindi), in which he is current working, he would appear in a film produced by Thenappan and another directed by Ravi Kumar.

Maruthunayakam was still down the lane. "I need several crores to complete it. That too, in dollars".

Was he interested in joining politics? "People suspect that I am good in my work," he replied tongue-in-cheek. "But I don't think I am a good actor".

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