Kamal Haasan on Nani’s Comments: “I Know He Gets It”

Kamal Haasan, commonly known as the dictionary of acting by so many in the Indian film fraternity, has now accepted the admiration that was revealed by Natural Star Nani. While promoting HIT 3, Nani spoke highly of Kamal Haasan's legendary performance in Virumandi, describing it as a huge source of inspiration for himself.

Nani had averred, "Cinema has given a lot to us and our directors." And if we ever returned anything to the cinema, it would be Kamal Haasan, sir. He is a boon to the film industry. I recall a scene from Virumandi when Kamal Sir wakes up from sleep. It was so spontaneous that I continued watching it repeatedly to see if it seemed staged, but it never did. That performance was inspiring for me, and I attempted to put that kind of realism in my film.

The video clip of Nani's emotional words went viral on social media very soon, catching the eye of none other than Kamal Haasan himself.

In a recent interview promoting his upcoming film Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, Kamal was asked about Nani’s tribute. Even before the interviewer could finish the question, Kamal responded with a knowing smile.

"Like I don't need to verbally say 'Thanks, Nani,' because I know he understands, I don't need to spell everything out in cinema either—the audience picks up on performance," Kamal added with a nod of respect to Nani's statement in his characteristic reflective manner.

The moment is going viral, with both the stars' fans celebrating the rare and emotional crossover of mutual respect, generations apart in the film industry.

While that was happening, Thug Life was preparing for the big release on June 5th, and the anticipation was high for the Kamal-Mani Ratnam pairing.