Kamal Haasan’s Senapati look in ‘Indian’ was based on his father: Shankar
Senapathi’s look in Kamal Haasan’s film ‘Indian’ was based on his father Srinivasan. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, director Shankar revealed how he chose this look.
Kamal Haasan’s character Senapathi made his debut in Shankar’s ‘Indian’ in 1996. But very few know that Senapathi’s sleek white haired look is actually based on Kamal Haasan’s father and a few other family members. Senapathi became an instant hit and his take on social injustice and his way of setting things right attracted people in a different way. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Shankar and Kamal Haasan spoke about this iconic look.
Kamal Haasan and Shankar reminisce about the first day of shooting of ‘Indian’.
When asked if the ‘Vikram’ actor remembers his first shot for ‘Indian’ in 1996, Haasan said, “Oh, it was very exciting and emotional for me. My father had passed away a few years ago and some people from my village, his old friends had come to meet him. It was just a coincidence that I was dressed up as a general and we were testing this look for the first time. So, I reached the set a few hours late because we had no timetable as to how long it would take. They were all waiting and so were the people from my village. The moment they saw me, they got emotional. They started touching my feet because they remembered my father. I got emotional. So, that’s how the first day started for me.”
Watch the trailer of ‘Indian’ here:
Adding to this memory of Haasan, director Shankar said, “On the first day he was doing a scene in a government office, a police station. We had propellers to simulate the wind, and it was going to rain later. In the scene, he is running around to get his daughter admitted to the hospital. Not many people know this, but his character was designed in a very special way.”
Elaborating further he said, “We took his father’s photo and photos of Sir (Kamal Haasan) and photos of his two brothers and put them all together. Our production designer, Thotta Tharani, put it together and we got the National Award for the film. So, Senapathi is actually derived from Kamal Sir’s father and his brothers.”
‘Hindustani 2’ (Indian 2) is all set for a grand release in theatres on July 12. The sequel stars Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, SJ Suryah, Rakul Preet Singh and many others in lead roles.
