Kamal Haasan is renowned and revered not just for his acting and filmmaking skills but also for his contributions to Indian cinema. Over the decades, he has introduced several cutting-edge technologies and innovative systems to the country’s show business, thereby playing a key role in the evolution of the art form as a whole.
At a time when producers are increasingly pushing for a revenue-sharing model while making movies headlined by A-listers, veteran producer H Murali recently made a revelation that underscored why Kamal Haasan is often referred to as a trailblazer. Noting that Kamal has been finding alternate ways to make money from movies rather than charging direct remuneration since the 1990s, Murali recalled an instance when the actor-filmmaker earned three times his salary by acquiring the rights to sell a film in three territories beyond Tamil Nadu.
Check Out | Aamir Khan, Gauri Spratt are now married: Couple tie the knot in intimate ceremony at home
Talking about director KS Ravikumar’s Avvai Shanmugi (1996), Murali shared that Kamal proposed two options: either pay him what he earned from his previous film, S Shankar’s Indian, or give him what Avvai Shanmugi makes in four areas outside Tamil Nadu. After considering the financial implications, such as the interest on the loan for the actor’s huge salary, Murali decided it was more beneficial to allow Kamal to receive what the movie earns from the four areas instead.
The Indian vs Avvai Shanmugi deal: A Rs 1.5 crore gamble
“When I approached him for Avvai Shanmugi, Kamal sir was acting in Indian at that time. For Indian, his salary was Rs 1.5 crore. While doing Indian too, he had asked for distribution rights for four areas outside of Tamil Nadu. However, the movie’s producer, AM Rathnam sir, told him that since Indian was a big-budget film and since even Shankar was expensive, he would pay the salary instead. So, he paid Rs 1.5 crore as remuneration to the actor,” Murali recalled during an appearance on journalist-filmmaker Chitra Lakshmanan’s YouTube channel, Touring Talkies.
Kamal Haasan in Avvai Shanmugi’s Hindi remake, Chachi 420. (Express archive photo)
Kamal subsequently made the same request to Murali for Avvai Shanmugi. “He asked me if I would give him the four areas — Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana (back then, Andhra was yet to be bifurcated) — or the Rs 1.5 crore that Rathnam sir paid for Indian. I thought about it and realised that to pay him Rs 1.5 crore, I would have to take a loan, which involves financial costs and interest. All that would add up. Thus, I decided to give him the four areas instead of a salary,” he said.
How a distribution bet turned Rs 1.5 cr salary into Rs 5 cr profit
Avvai Shanmugi became a massive success upon release and earned Kamal Haasan over three times his remuneration. “He handled the release in those four areas himself. You won’t believe, he made Rs 5 crore from it. Back then, it was a huge amount. The salary he had asked was just Rs 1.5 crore. However, if I had agreed to that salary, the remaining Rs 3.5 crore profit wouldn’t have come to me. I would have borrowed the Rs 1.5 crore and would have had to pay interest,” Murali pointed out.
Story continues below this ad
Must Read | Trisha Krishnan calls out apparel brand over stinky clothes: ‘They reek of body odour’
“Secondly, I would have sold those areas to distributors anyway, as I wasn’t doing my own releases back then. That profit would have gone to the distributors instead. However, the system we had benefited me greatly, as I didn’t face any financial strain during production. It was very easy for me to manage. At the same time, because the film was a hit, Kamal sir earned a massive profit. For the next film, director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Kaathala Kaathala (1998), he did the same thing and took four areas. While it didn’t achieve the same level of success, it, too, was very profitable,” he added.
Kamal Haasan and Tabu in Chachi 420. (Express archive photo)
The legacy of Avvai Shanmugi
Inspired by director Chris Columbus’ American comedy-drama Mrs Doubtfire (1993), starring Robin Williams and Sally Field, Avvai Shanmugi also featured Meena, Gemini Ganesan, Nagesh, Manivannan, and Nassar in key roles. Kamal remade the movie in Hindi a year later as Chachi 420. He not only directed Chachi 420 but also starred in it alongside Tabu, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, and Paresh Rawal in key roles.
Leave a Reply