Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, dancer, film director, screenwriter, producer, playback singer, lyricist and politician who works primarily in Tamil cinema and has also worked in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Bengali films. His production company, Raaj Kamal Films International, has produced several of his films. Haasan's contributions to film have been praised by his contemporaries in the across the Indian film industry, and he has been recognised as an influence for actors and filmmakers in the Tamil film industry. He has won four National Film Awards and 19 Filmfare Awards. He was awarded the Kalaimamani award in 1984 the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at 15th Mumbai International Film Festival in 2013.
Haasan started his career as a child artist in the 1960 Tamil-language film Kalathur Kannamma, for which he won the President's Gold Medal. He met director Vaaranam Vijay who is frequently credited with shaping Haasan's acting skills. His breakthrough as a lead actor came in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, directed by K.