Kamal Haasan: 'In Kalki 2898 AD, I'm not the bad guy, just a sage with a bad idea'
In Kalki 2898 AD, Kamal Haasan plays a tyrant named Supreme Yaskin, who lords over the last of the remaining resources of the earth.
Kamal Haasan in Kalki 2898 AD.
"I was curious, to begin with, then I was surprised, and now I am in awe," said Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan on Wednesday, speaking at the pre-release event of the upcoming movie Kalki 2898 AD in Mumbai. At the event, he shared the stage with his fellow co-stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, and Deepika Padukone.
Kamal revealed his admiration for director Nag Ashwin's storytelling prowess. He noted that one should not be deceived by the unassuming looks of Nag Ashwin, as there is much more to him than meets the eye.
"I am used to this kind of ordinary-looking people doing extraordinary things," said Kamal, citing the example of his mentor and late legendary director K. Balachander.
"I don't underestimate this ordinary-looking guy. They have depth to them, and you don't realize that until you talk to them. I had an opportunity to talk to him (Nag Ashwin), a man of few words. The succinct way of putting your ideas forward, and if it extends to movies, great ideas will translate better. It's when they don't know how to present it that great ideas become ordinary movies. This guy (Nag Ashwin) knew how to present the idea," remarked Kamal Haasan.
Kamal departed from tradition and accepted the antagonist role in another star's movie. However, he doesn't seem to be playing a textbook villain. Like all the characters played by Kamal, his role in Kalki 2898 AD seems multidimensional and complex.
"I always wanted to play the bad man. The bad man gets to do all the good things in films. The heroes are singing romantic songs and waiting for the heroines. I thought I was going to play the bad man, so it's going to be fun. But, he wanted it to be different. I am almost like a sage in that film with a bad idea," he explained.
One of the highlights of Kalki 2898 AD is Kamal's look. Kamal plays a tyrant named Supreme Yaskin, who lords over the last of the remaining resources of the earth. However, he seems to be burdened with deformity. To say Kamal's look in the film stunned everyone would be an understatement.
Kamal revealed that a lot of research and effort went into designing the look. "I did a lot of research and came up with an idea for my look, but he said Amitabh ji is doing it. Then I suggested I wear armour, and he said, Prabhas has got it. I didn't want to be pregnant (like Deepika Padukone) in the film; otherwise, I would have tried that as well," he quipped.
"But this get-up took a long time, and we travelled to LA; failed a couple of times before we arrived at a look that was acceptable to the director. I hope that the audience will react the same way as we did when we saw the first look," he added.
Kalki 2898 AD is due in cinemas on June 27.
Updated: June 20, 2024 12:48 PM IST
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