Did you know? The full-time actor and part-time politician Kamal Haasan, whose Makkal Needhi Maiam has aligned with the DMK for the Lok Sabha elections had once bemoaned about his Marudhanayagam film getting shelved because of the Indian government ensuring its nuclear security.
In a revelation that sheds new light on the fate of one of Indian cinema’s most ambitious projects, actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan recently lamented the impact of India’s Pokhran nuclear tests on his dream venture, Marudhanayagam. The project, which garnered attention for its grand scale and international aspirations, faced a setback due to the unforeseen consequences of the nuclear tests conducted in 1998.
Abdul Kalam is the reason Marudhanayagam film never got made?
It seems Kamal's US investors for the film were affected by the 1998 sanctions US government placed on India post Operation Shakti at Pokhran.
How true is this?
Used to think Kamal got an unsecured loan from… pic.twitter.com/Bcq2JvxLEo
— Tamil Labs 2.0 (@labstamil) March 15, 2024
Kamal Haasan revealed that in 1998, he had secured commitments from U.S. investors to fund Marudhanayagam, a film envisioned not just for Indian audiences but for global viewership. However, the trajectory of the project took an unexpected turn on 11 May 1998, when India conducted a series of nuclear tests under the codename Operation Shakti, led by eminent scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
The nuclear tests, while showcasing India’s technological prowess, triggered a seismic shift in international relations, prompting widespread condemnation and sanctions from various countries, including the United States. These sanctions, imposed by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, included the termination of U.S. credit and credit guarantees to India, effectively cutting off Kamal Haasan’s source of funding for Marudhanayagam.
Speaking to NDTV on their programme called Talking Heads in February 2000, Kamal Haasan in response to a question on why Marudhanayagam had stopped suddenly, said, “No it was not stopped suddenly. Thanks to a nuclear bomb, it stopped. It exactly stopped because of that. No one will believe it till I say so. I have got a fax from America which says sorry, we pull out of the project. We were almost, pen was poised over the document and I was in London. I would be flying the next day to America to sign the document, everything was falling in place. Everything was accepted. 6-4 million dollars was the discussion and the Pokhran blasts, and they pulled and I was already committed. Now they say, yeah now that it’s all straight, the sanctions are off, but then what happened at that time, stalls a film. I lost something like about 70 lakhs which I had given as advances to European actors. There is a pay-or-play contract, so they didn’t play, they got paid.”
He is a third rate drohi and an enemy of the nation. He was more worried about his movie than the nation being a nuclear power. He will do anything to satisfy his white masters. https://t.co/h0VC5QwApU pic.twitter.com/9IHZxA3bpb
— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 ( மோடியின் குடும்பம் ) (@HLKodo) May 31, 2023
The fallout from the nuclear tests dealt a “blow” to Kamal Haasan’s ambitious project, leaving it without the financial backing necessary to proceed. Kamal Haasan seemed to be more worried about his own financial status rather than feeling happy for a country that successfully carried out its nuclear tests.
Speculation had previously swirled around the reasons behind Marudhanayagam’s failure to materialize, with some attributing it to Kamal Haasan’s alleged failure to repay an unsecured loan from the Royapettah Benefit Fund (RBF).
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.