It doesn't get bigger than this; Kamal Haasan's magnum opus Dasavatharam, which is being directed by K. S. Ravi Kumar and produced by Oscar Ravichandran, is pulling all stops in its quest to becoming the most talked about film for a long time. Beginning with the audio release, which is to be presided over by none other than Asian martial arts legend Jackie Chan, the film has now added another feather to its cap, or in this case, two feathers. The film will feature two of Tamil Nadu's biggest politicians in cameo appearances '€” M. Karunanidhi, the reigning CM and former CM J. Jayalalithaa.
The film has Kamal taking up 10 different avatars - one of them being a scientist. According to the scene, Kamal Haasan's scientist is being felicitated for his new discovery by the United States President George W. Bush, which incidentally is being played by Kamal himself. The felicitation ceremony takes place at Chepauk Grounds in Chennai, as the scientist is a native of Tamil Nadu.
After conceptualising the story, Kamal and Ravichandran felt that it would be apt to include Mr Karunanidhi as part of the scene. According to sources, after Kamal approached the CM, the latter gave him his approval of making a cameo in the film as he considered himself as a member of the same fraternity. But Kamal wasn't satisfied with this alone. He wanted to rope in yet another celebrity and
a woman of high stature, in this case former Chief Minster Jayalalithaa. According to the shot, she would accompany the scientist in a helicopter and descend on the dais. Both scenes were canned quietly by the crew and edited as well.
Apart from the two politicians, DPI leader Thirumavalavan also makes an appearance in the film. 'The scene where he makes a revolutionary speech will create a stir in the audiences,' says a unit hand. Insiders reveal that this is the first time a film unit has been given permission to shoot an aerial view of Chennai; the earlier two occasions being a filming after India's independence and the other for a documentary by the BBC crew.
