The news of
Kamal Haasan being chosen for the title of Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government, has sent a frisson of excitement among the fans of the actor across the country . The actor cum filmmaker has all praise for French filmmakers like Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard for their immense contribution to the world of cinema. Talking about the Chevalier, Haasan says that he feels elated now that he is in the same league as Satyajit Ray.
The 61-year old star has always been an ardent fan of French cinema and his all-time favourites being Truffaut, Eric Rohmer and Jean-Luc Godard.
One of his abiding memories of France is that of 1977 when he was filming a song in the country that extolled the beauty of Germany. According to Kamal, he was apprehensive that someone might take umbrage at the song because he was praising a country that had once invaded France.
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French government raises a toast in honour of Kamal Haasan When he started work on the Tamil movie ‘Marudhanayagam’, he touched base with French scriptwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, who had collaborated with Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel on several films. Haasan wanted Carriere to recommend a writer for the film. “Much to my surprise, Carriere himself offered to help me with the script. This was really amazing and a great source of happiness for me,’’ says Haasan.
The Tamil also feels that European cinema is infused with a rare aesthetic sensibility and a sense of intelligence which he always tries to emulate in his movies.
Haasan also credits France with being a forerunner of democracy and producing recording pioneer Pathe, technical expert Georges Melies and archivist Henri Langlois.
Listen to the songs of Kamal Haasan on Gaana.com
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