Kamal Haasan's Senapathy look from 'Indian' was based on his father: Shankar

Kamal Haasan's Senapathy look from 'Indian' was based on his father: Shankar

Kamal Hassan's character Senapathy made his debut in 1996 in Shankar's 'Indian'. But not many know that Senapathy's slick white hair look is actually based on Kamal Hassan's father and some other family members. Senapathy became an instant hit and his take on social injustice and setting things right found a different appeal. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Shankar and Kamal Haasan talked about the iconic look.

Kamal Hassan and Shankar threw light and jogged their memory of the first day of the shooting of 'Indian'.

When asked if the 'Vikram' actor remembered his first shot for 'Indian' in 1996, Haasan said, "Oh, it was very exciting and emotional for me. My father died a few years back and some of my village people, his old friends had come to visit. It's a sheer coincidence that I was dressed as Senapathy, and we were testing the look for the first time. So, I was late to the set by a couple of hours because we didn't have a time schedule as to how long it's going to take. They were all waiting and so were the people who came down from my village. The moment they saw me, they got emotional. They started touching my feet because they remembered my father. I was emotional. So, that's how day one started for me."

Here's the trailer of 'Indian':

Adding to this memory of Haasan, director Shankar revealed, "The first day he was doing a scene in a government office, a police station. We had propellers to simulate wind, and later it was going to rain. In the scene, he's running around for his daughter's admission to the hospital. Not many know this, but his character was designed in a very special way."

Continuing further, he said, "We took his father's photo and sir's (Kamal Haasan) pictures and his two brothers' pictures, and put them all together. Our production designer, Thotta Tharani, put it together, and we got the national award for the film. So, Senapathy is actually referenced from Kamal sir's father and his brothers."

'Indian 2' is gearing up for a grand release in theatres on July 12. The sequel features Kamal Haasan, Siddharth, SJ Suryah, Rakul Preet Singh and several others in lead roles.