Announcing the title of his next film as Sabash Naidu, Kamal Haasan on Friday confirmed that he would be seen playing the role of Balram Naidu, a character he played in his earlier film Dasavatharam (2008). The film was launched at a function at the Nadigar Sangam Premises on Friday amidst much fanfare.
Addressing the media after the launch, Kamal said Sabash Naidu, which will be made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, will be titled Sabash Kundu in Hindi.
“The Hindi film has been titled so as the hero’s character in the Hindi version is Pranab Kundu. The film is a humourous thriller. Three writers have written it. I wrote the Tamil screenplay for it,” he said. When asked if the film would be a sequel to Dasavatharam, he said, “No, it will not be a sequel.”
The film, being directed by Rajeev Kumar, with whom Kamal will be working after 25 years, will have Shruthi Haasan playing Kamal’s daughter. Also, Kamal’s second daughter, Akshara, will work as an assistant director in this film, which will have music by Ilaiyaraaja.
“We are looking to have four songs in the film at the moment. Music producers in the US, District 78, will be working with Ilaiyaraaja on this film,” the actor said, adding that work on the film would begin in Los Angeles on May 14.
“Only 10-15% of this film will be shot in India. The remaining 85% will be shot abroad. We are looking to work on this project in May, June and July. In July, we will shoot the portions earmarked to be shot in India,” the actor said.
On whether he would not vote in the upcoming elections, the actor said, “I will not be here on May 16.” When asked how he would like his fans to act in the coming elections, the actor said, “It is their individual choice. When you come to do welfare activities (to the fan club), leave the politics at the doorstep like how you leave footwear, which one opts for to protect one’s feet. When you go back, you can wear it and go.”
A reporter pointed out that while senior actors like him and Rajini were actively taking interest in the activities of the Nadigar Sangam, younger actors like Vijay and Ajith were not participating in them. When asked what advice he would like to give to them, he said, “I do not take advice and don’t want to advice them as well. They know what is happening. There may be several factors for their decision to stay away. I do not want to politicise it. They are my brothers and this is a family. The doors of the association will always be open to them.”
The film will have Bobby King handling the stunts and the choreographers of Step Up 2 (2008) working on some of the dance sequences Shruthi Haasan will be seen in. Earlier, Kamal paid `2.5 lakh as rent for the premises, and the producers of the film, Lyca, donated `1 crore towards the construction of the Nadigar Sangam building.