DMK stooge Kamal Haasan, a part-time politician and full-time actor, has now officially secured a Rajya Sabha seat—by effectively mortgaging his party for a deal with the DMK. In doing so, he’s abandoned the very fans and supporters who once placed their hopes in him and stood by his vision for change. What remains is Kamal Haasan—a man of theatrical flair, but political emptiness. Soon, he’ll likely be seated in the Rajya Sabha for the Monsoon Session, parroting the DMK’s line without hesitation.
But this isn’t a new chapter in his story—it’s a continuation. The lack of consistency and integrity we now see in his political career mirrors his time as a filmmaker. Director Lingusamy once revealed his experience during the chaotic production of Uttama Villain is a telling example. He described how Kamal’s endless script rewrites derailed the film, drained finances, and ultimately left the production house in ruins. The pattern of unpredictability and self-serving decisions seems all too familiar—on screen or off it.
In a candid interview with journalist Chithra Lakshmanan, director-producer Lingusamy recounted his challenging experience working with Haasan on the film Uttama Villain. While acknowledging Kamal as a brilliant artist, Lingusamy didn’t shy away from sharing how the actor’s unpredictable working style and constant script revisions derailed the film’s production.
A clarification about #Uthamavillian pic.twitter.com/6CURcEMPBv
— Thirrupathi Brothers (@ThirrupathiBros) April 17, 2024
He recalled that Uttama Villain started as a promising emotional story, initially meant to feature actor Siddharth in a key role. However, the script was frequently changed—almost weekly, according to Lingusamy causing chaos for the production team and financial strain for his company, Thirrupathi Brothers. Despite Kamal agreeing in writing to compensate by doing another low-budget film (around ₹30 crore), the financial losses had already mounted.
Actor and journalist Chithra Lakshmanan asked, “was ‘Uttama Villain’ the film that put you in the biggest financial trouble?”
Lingusamy responded, “Definitely. I’m not saying this to criticize, but that’s the truth. He had promised to do another film for us; he even gave it in writing that he’d make a film for 30 crores. We didn’t put any pressure on him; it was out of immense respect for him that I would frequently go and ask him about it. We even asked him recently, and he’s still said he’ll do a film for us. We went to him willingly, but what we asked for was different. As Gautham Menon said in that comedy, ‘What I asked for…’ Don’t you know what we would wish for, sir? We came wanting films like ‘Thevar Magan’ or ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’. Those are the kinds of films we wished for based on his body of work. He narrated a story, a super commercial script, like Velu Nayakar going from here to save his younger brother and returning. He described the action as a superb film. We were thinking of casting Siddharth as the brother. The thing is, he would change things every week; that’s his issue. He’s done that with many films before, and they’ve been successful. That’s his artistic pursuit, his way of doing things. If I had gone only as a director, it might have been balanced differently, but because I went as a producer, he would constantly change things and narrate new ideas on the fly. Bose sir asked him to do the film ‘Drishyam,’ but noting two prominent actors he said they wouldn’t do it, “Why brother is even asking for this?” Sir, I respect him immensely. Bose might deal with him a bit like a producer, but I see him as a great artist. That’s my problem too.”
Adding to the frustration, Lingusamy revealed that when he proposed to remake the Malayalam hit Drishyam with Kamal in the lead, the actor declined—only to go ahead and do the project later with a different production house. This move, Lingusamy implied, felt like a betrayal.
Lingusamy recounted, “At that time, there was good content, you know, sir? We were doing five films continuously, and all doing well. Then he said he wanted to do the story for ‘Uttama Villain’. Bose didn’t like it at all. He was waiting to acquire the full rights to ‘Drishyam.’ He had even shown him the film. After seeing it, he said he wouldn’t do it and went to another company to make a film.”
He then lamented, “Honestly, as an artist, you can’t find anyone like Kamal sir. I myself have learned so much from his films, like ‘Thevar Magan’ – how many times do I say it? As an artist, he is a truly amazing artist.”
During the post-production phase of Uttama Villain, Lingusamy attempted to bring the film back on track, suggesting several changes after viewing rough cuts. Although Kamal appeared to agree at the time, none of those suggestions made it to the final edit.
Lingusamy said, “After I make this film, if you face any issues, let me know, and I’ll take care of whatever’s needed. But I’m going to make this film as my dream project. I just made one request, ‘I won’t interfere at all, sir, but for every film, we usually suggest a few corrections after watching the final cut. I’ll watch the film and suggest corrections, sir. You can do that then.’ He said, ‘Please, do tell.’ So, Balaji sir and I prepared a list and took it to him. He said he’d consider everything we asked for, but he didn’t implement them, sir. If he had, the film might have turned out much better, honestly. Even now, that edit is such a fantastic one, I genuinely believe it. He honestly agreed, but I don’t know what he thought; he didn’t do it the next day. He just left it as is. The next day, when I went home, a show was playing. Khushbu madam and everyone were sitting and watching the film. He says again, ‘They were really enjoying it! Trust me, just leave it as it is.’ He then said again, ‘Tell your brother too, tell him I said this.'”
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