With his brilliant character performances in Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan and Shankar’s Indian the Ulaganayagan won two more National Awards. In the year, 1990 Dr. Haasan won the Padma Shru Awards and in 2014, the Padma Bhushan award for his contribution towards Indian Cinema. The talent he possesses is invincible and the actor has done around 220 films in multiple languages. Kamal is the only Indian actor to have completed 61 years in the film industry and while his performance has been par excellence in all his films, here are our favourite picks:
1. Moondram Pirai:
Kamal Haasan dons the role of a teacher named Cheenu who figures out that Bhagyalakshmi (Sridevi) has retrogare amnesia and has a child’s personality. This was Kamal’s first National Award his performance is simply mindblowing.
2. Aboorva Sagodharargal
Sporting a double-role, a man with dwarfism and his brother. The film would have been an emotionally challenging experiment for any actor but for Kamal, he simply nailed the role. The emotional rollercoaster the actor puts his audience through is amazing. The film received several accolades.
3. Nayagan:
This gangster movie directed by Mani Ratnam is everyone’s favorite. The movie is listed in world’s 100 movies you should watch before you die. The film was inspired from the famous movie Godfather and was loosely based on the life of Varadharajan Mudhaliar who was a don in Mumbai. Illayaraja’s music just makes this movie one of Kamal’s best!
4. Michael Madhana Kama Rajan
This absolute laugh riot is one of the movies you can watch over and over, but will still crack you up. This situation comedy involves 4 brothers who grew apart as kids and finally meet at one epic scene in the climax! All four tracks are so hilarious with each of them from different walks of life.
5. Kurudhipunal
One of the best police movies ever made, this Kamal and Arjun combo movie just tops the list of Kamal’s best movies! It has one of the best plot ever written and executed to justice. Kamal’s look and getup and how he carried himself in the movie as a just police officer is applauding!
6. Anbe Sivam
Easily the best movie of Kamal, this film addressed the controversy behind Kamal being an atheist. With his partner in crime Madhavan, this film warmed everybody’s heart! Kamal bore a disfigured face in the movie and was much appreciated for his performance.
7. Hey Ram
This movie was one of the controversial movies that Kamal made and one of the highly misunderstood movies of Kamal. Haasan was once quoted saying that this movie was his journey towards understanding ‘Gandhism.’ Revolving around the Hindu-Muslim conflict during the British Raj this period flick is one of the best conceptualized movies of Kamal Haasan!
8. Sathya
A jobless youth Sathya hates corruption but ultimately turns to out to be a puppet in the hands of corrupt politicians. But, Sathya is not the one to give in, he gains public attention as him and his friends take the Law into their own hands. What unfolds as a result is the storyline. This film has been loved by every generation and is easily one of Kamal’s mosr terrific performances.
9. Guna
Only Kamal could pull off a role like Guna! With brilliant performances and a different storyline, this movie is evergreen just like the eternal love of the lead pair. With twists and turns at every step of the plot, this film serves as an absolute must watch!
10. Panchathanthiram
The third of the comedy trilogy (Thenali-Pamal K Sambandam- Panchathanthiram), this movie was the best among the three. With an ensemble cast of great actors and Kamal between them, this movie had the best dialogues and an amazing screenplay! A laugh-riot with its situation comedy scenes, this is a movie is gold for Kamal fans!
11. Indian
To play two poles apart is no problem for Ulaganayagan. On one hand, an old man, an ex-freedom fighter turns out to be a vigilante to root out corruption and on the other, a young Kamal follows several malpractices and is corrupt. The magnum opus was one of Kamal’s biggest commercial hits worldwide.
12. Vishwaroopam
One of the finest, this film has Kamal, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah playing the lead roles. Written and directed by Kamal Haasan, the film was the second highest grossing Tamil film worldwide. Vishwaroopam’s storyline revolves around Viz or Vishwanath who is under surveilance by the New York Police because they doubt that this Kathak teacher is actually a terrorist under a different name. The film has a gripping narrative is easily one of Kamal’s best.
13.Mahanadhi
A doting father and a loving man loses his entire family after he goes to jail as a result of a misfortunate business. Krishna (Kamal) is betrayed by his friend Dhanush after he sells his daughter to a Minister. After returning from Jail, Krishna learns about all the tragedy that had occured in his family and goes around putting it all back together. The journey is so heartwrenching that only an actor like Kamal would nail a role as in-depth as this one.
14. Thevar Magan
The film Thevar Magan was inspired by the english film The Godfather and the Kannada film Kaadu. A reluctant son Sakthivel completes his education from London and returns to his village to his father. He comes back with his girlfriend and tells his father that he is planning to begin a chain of restaurants in Madras but the things that unfold in the village keeps him closer to Periya Thevar (Sivaji Ganeshan).