From the actor’s desk: New book brings together Kamal Haasan’s literary works
‘Maiam: Thaerndheydutha Padaippugal’ gives fans a peek into the actor’s writings on cinema, literature, and life, published in the magazine ‘Maiam’ between June 1987 and August 1990
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan is known for his acting and technical prowess in the Indian film industry. As an actor, he has essayed many roles, including that of a press photographer (Tik Tik Tik, 1981) and a documentary filmmaker (Aval Appadithaan, 1978). In his choice of roles during the era when filmmaking itself was not acknowledged as a career, he was far ahead of his time.
However, it appears that a full-fledged role of a journalist has eluded the actor. The closest he got to this was when he portrayed a drunkard art critic in the 1983 film Sagara Sangamam. Perhaps fate had different plans for him. Bolstered by his voracious reading and associations with numerous litterateurs, Kamal found the courage to briefly play the role of a journalist in real life in the late 1980s.
A new book, Maiam: Thaerndheydutha Padaippugal (Selected Works of Maiam magazine), published by Chennai’s Kamal Panpattu Maiyam, offers us a glimpse of the actor’s journalistic side; it brings together features and other pieces he wrote for Maiam, a magazine he ran between June 1987 and August 1990. The book, published ahead of the ongoing Chennai Book Fair 2024, has become an instant hit.
For films, arts and literature
In his preface to the book, Kamal writes that he started the magazine to document the conversations he had with poets like Puviyarasu and Gnanakoothan, and writers like Sujatha, Balakumaran and Subramanya Raju, about films, arts and literature.
“It acted as a bridge between serious literature and mass tastes,” he writes. Subsequently, he became the editor of the magazine and his friends, poet Puviyarasu and Rasi Azhagappan (who later became a director), joined as the managing editors. The magazine’s content was like a usual magazine. It featured poems, short stories (many of them in translations), other articles, and an editorial. It also had a dedicated section for question and answer.
Kamal Haasan played a drunkard art critic in the 1983 film Sagara Sangamam
While the magazine published the stories of popular literary figures like K N Subramanian, T Janakiraman, Akilan, Ashokamitran and Aadhavan Sundaram, it also gave space to new wave pulp fiction writers like Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Subha and newcomers like Anuradha Ramanan, Thilagavathi, Amuthavan, Ezhilan and Raja Chandrasekar. Well-known poet Muhammed Metha and lyricists Muthulingam and Vairamuthu wrote poems and composer Gangai Amaran tried his hands on remixed songs, using new lines to a popular beat of an MGR song.
Ananthu, one of the main associates of filmmaker K Balachander and later, a mentor to Kamal Haasan, wrote articles introducing Western films. One of his articles on film reviews comes in handy for today’s film reviewers.
A centrist even in the 1980s
Those who read the editorials and articles penned by him would discern that the actor’s centrist political stance is not a newfound trait. In one of the articles, he reminisces about witnessing a discussion between DMK members and a Godman.
“The discussion took place at MLA hostel. The DMK members defended atheism. But the Godman stressed that there is a ‘shakti’ (power) above us. The party members said that even if there is a power above us, we don't need to worship it. Instead, we must control the power for the use of mankind. That discussion gave me clarity. Both theism and atheism are strongly rooted in this land. It cannot be broken any soon. Realising that I took a neutral stand. That’s why I am able to respect Kanchi Kamakoti as a human being like EV Ramasamy,” he wrote.
He opposed hero-worship in both its literal and metaphorical forms. He disapproved of his fan base’s actions when they indulged in activities, like erecting life-size cut-outs and participating in milk ablutions. The clarity in Kamal’s answers to the questions of his fans about issues related to cinema brings out his innate comic sense. For example, to a fan’s request to stop acting in the ‘masala-filled’ commercial films and focus only on arthouse films, Kamal responded: “I may become an ‘award’ actor but cannot win a place in your heart..!”
To a question about his possible foray in Hollywood, he responded: “I have acted in an English movie. The title was Pushpaka Vimana. It’s not only an English film, but also a Russian, Japanese, French, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Marathi film. This could be the first film in the world by a Tamilian acting in all languages.”
A Learner, A Guide
After 22 issues, the magazine became defunct due to various reasons, including the actor’s rise to stardom. Writer K Selventhiran has collected all the issues and selected the works, which resulted in the book’s current form. “The magazine was basically published for the actor’s fan base. It was only in the fan clubs that one could get the magazine. Through the magazine, Kamal guided and tried to enhance the tastes and knowledge of his fans in films and literature,” Selventhiran told The Federal.
Expressing his surprise over the use of computers in the magazine’s page-making in one of his articles in 1987, Kamal said that in the future, the magazine Maiam could also be read on computers. However, his attempts to revive the magazine online could not come to fruition. “As of now, we are digitising the old issues of the magazine. The attempts to resume the magazine in online form is also in the offing,” added Selventhiran.
Replete with hitherto unseen photographs of the actor, the book also contains some poems and a short story by the actor. Overall, it is a collector's edition for his fans. As Kamal himself says, the difference between a teacher and editor is that the former teaches and the later learns. Running the magazine must have been a learning experience for the actor, introducing him to the rigours of writing and editing.