Kamal Haasan recalls how MT, true master, gave wings to his dreams

Actor Kamal Haasan who acted in 'Kanyakumari', written by M T Vasudevan Nair, said it was the legendary novelist who gave wings to his dreams of becoming a hero in films. The actor recalled how as a young boy of 18 he was invited to act in 'Kanyakumari', the Malayalam film scripted by M T and directed by K T Sethumadhavan.

The actor's pre-recorded message was played to the audience at the 'MT Kalam- Navathi Vandanam' event organised by Manorama Online held in Kochi on Friday. “I earnestly longed to be present with you all at the event. However, I could not due to some unavoidable circumstances,” he said.

“It was 'Kanyakumari' that made me a hero. I was only 18 years old at that time. It was MT Vasudevan Nair who fulfilled my dreams of being an actor and a hero. I won my first Film Fare award through 'Kanyakumari'. It also paved the way for me to act in various other languages,” he said.

He added that M T Vasudevan Nair taught him that the writer is always the superstar of films. “After my interaction with him, I learnt that it is the writer who is the superstar,” he said. He also added that 'Nirmalyam' was a huge inspiration to him. “M T Vasudevan Nair's Nirmalyam is to me what 'Bicycle Thieves' is to the Western crowd,” he said, concluding the speech by calling MT a true master.