‘Thenali’: Here’s how Kamal Haasan became known as Ulaganayakan

On Monday, Ulaganayakan Kamal Haasan issued a press note announcing his decision to renounce the titles bestowed on him by fans and media. The statement led to a lot of discussion with many appreciating the actor’s humility, while some others questioned the need to drop the prefix when he has proved that he is always a superstar.
While the debate continues, we take a look at the film that first bestowed him with the title. ‘Thenali’ director K S Ravikumar once acknowledged that he wanted to do something special for Kamal Haasan who acted in the film, which is when he decided to give him the title ‘Ulaganayakan’. However, the veteran star was not very keen on it. In an interview with Times of India, the director said he landed at Kamal Haasan’s house with his camera.

“He was in a different get-up for another film ‘Aalavandhan’ and I convinced him for the shoot and told him that I only needed to capture his eyes. “We then shot the frames in high speed asking Kamal to smile and wink. I took the visuals to the CG department. The plan was to first show the Alwarpet office and then we show visuals of Chennai, India and then the world becomes a black circle of his eye and he winks. And then the Ulaganayakan title and the film title flash on screen,” he said.
The movie, which released in 2000, featured Kamal Haasan and Jayaram as a man with multiple phobias and a psychiatrist, respectively. The film won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Jayaram’s role as the psychiatrist Kailash also received critical acclaim. There is also a song titled ‘Ulagayanakan’ from the movie ‘Dasavathaaram’, which was a tribute to the veteran actor.