The movie Cheekati Rajyam was released on November 10, 2015, and the audience left the theatre after watching it on the big screen. Back then, a movie ending with the main lead playing the villain and watching the bad guys dead provided a feeling of satisfaction. Watching the end of Cheekati Rajyam also sent the same sight for a usual viewer.
However, it wasn’t the same for everyone, not for his true admirers. For them, the satisfying part wasn’t about how the movie ended, but it’s the very fact that they were watching someone (whom they loved the most)on the big screen after a very long time gap, which brought extreme joy to them. Yes, it’s Kamal Hassan!
Growing up in a very typical Indian family, today, children have had their parents talking to them about tales of how they walked miles to attend school, literally on almost every lazy Monday morning. We always wondered if it was true, but children of a true admirer of Kamal Hassan enjoyed listening to those because one can find honesty when those tales are shared. Many of our parents indeed cycled to another place far away from their residence to attend college. Still, usually, the cycle of a movie buff in the 70s and 80s ended up at a random movie theatre rather than at the college’s parking slot.
If it was Kamal’s movie day, one could see his true fans watching the movie in the theatre for all the three shows on that day. So, it wasn’t a case of usual teenagers trying to skip boring classes at the college, because like their children, we need to accept that they evolved, earned, and took in what they needed after experiencing a 2-hour show.
No wonder why many of our parents, who remain as Kamal Hassan’s admirers, find themselves relatable to the Suyambulingam character (played by Kamal Hassan ), a school dropout but an intelligent man who acquired knowledge by watching movies. Besides, the only thing that matters is the kind of impact Kamal Hassan had over people of different generations.
Today, most of our parent’s generation laugh watching Kamal Hassan saying, “Bheem boy, Bheem boy!” In the movie, Michael Madan Kamaraj, they watch him in awe when he quotes lines from Sri’s Mahaprasthanam in Akali Rajyam. They still talk for hours about the ten characters you brought in the movie Dashavatharam, cries watching his quest to find his daughter in Mahanadi.
Many cherish singing his hit songs like “Rajula Katha Ee pata” from Shatriya Puthrudu. The list never ends. Irrespective of the movies’ timeline, all have the great moment of being emotionally elevated.
“The best part of acting is you get to live other people’s lives without having to pay the price,” The Guardian quoted acclaimed actor Robert Deniro as saying.
Today, Kamal Hassan has lived them all. He brought life to the characters he played. Sometimes, Hassan made the impossible possible, and everyone always loved him for what he was. He stood as an example for many and trusted that the process matters, irrespective of the results. His true admirers can’t wait for him to complete his dream, making a Marudhanayagam movie and giving a visual treat to the audience.
