Kamal Haasan turns 55, celebrates with family

Chennai: Tamil superstar Kamal Hassan who recently celebrated his 50th year in the film industry, turned 55 on Saturday.The actor who had won his first National Award as a child artist for his screen debut in `Kalathur Kannamma` in 1959, spent a quiet day with his family away from the city, sources close to the superstar said.

Haasan, known as the `Universal Hero`, had last year urged his fans to stay off any celebrations on his birthday, citing the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils. The actor who has worked in upto 150 films in languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi has played a myriad of roles in his five decade long career, including `Dasavataram`, the film where he played ten characters. Known for his penchant for taking up challenging roles, Kamal, as he is fondly called, is reputed to be a "perfectionist" and a tech-savvy professional who has never hesitated to experiment in his ventures. Kamal and controversies, more often than not, go together. The four time National Award winning actor is now engaged in a legal tangle with production house Pyramid Sai Mira, over his shelved project,`Marmayogi`. Some political groups had objected to the title of his film `Sandiyar` which had to be rechristened and released as `Virumaandi`. Kamal`s `Dasavatharam` also had to pass the legal test before hitting the screen as some religious groups raised objections against the title as well as some scenes. According to reports, Kamal is planning his next venture with Tamil film director Mysskin, whose earlier films, `Chithiram Pesuthadi` and `Anjadey` had earned critical acclaim. The Filmfare Award wining actor also has Bollywood hits like `Saagar`, `Ek Duje Ke Liye`and `Sadma` to his credit. The actor`s daughter Shruti Haasan has already taken to acting and music, debuting in Bollywood with the film `Luck` and giving the musical score for her father`s latest project `Unnai Pol Oruvan`. Bureau Report