With Cheekati Raajyam, Kamal returns to Telugu

The veteran actor had last starred in a Telugu movie 20 years ago, in K. Viswanath’s Subhasankalpam

Actor Kamal Haasan at 'the ‘First Look’ of his Telugu film Cheekati Raajyam , along with co-actors Trisha and Prakash Raj.— Photo: Nagara Gopal

For die-hard Telugu fans of actor Kamal Haasan, it will be a two decade-old wish that will come true. That is, when once Rajkamal Films’ Cheekati Raajyam hits the screens. The movie has the ulaganayagan or universal hero star with Trisha, Prakash Raj and Kishore among others.

As is common with productions with big names in the cast and crew, very little was unveiled at the ‘First Look’ here on Sunday. Regular shooting is to start towards the end of the month, starting with a schedule at the Ramoji Film City here.

The presence of the ‘60-plus’ star himself, and of others including top technicians like Director of Photography Sanu John Varughese of

Viswaroopam fame, besides the announcement that the movie would be a ‘straight’ Telugu one, helped draw scribes to the event like bees to honey. Of course, Kamal looks different from how he looked in

Subhasankalpam (1995), directed by the legendary K. Viswanath and produced by S.P. Subrahmanyam, but suffice it to say that his looks belie his age.

Kamal said that for years now, his Telugu-speaking fans had been asking him when he would do a ‘straight’ film and recalled how he used to say, “soon, very soon”. “I wanted to show people that I always like to keep up my promises and there you are,

Cheekati Raajyam ,” he declared, adding that this would not be a ‘one-off’ and that more Telugu films would surely follow.

Prakash Raj told me that this could not and should not stop and that Telugu fans were thirsty for more. I did 36 films with my guru, the legendary KB (late director K. Balachander). They were actually enough to last a lifetime and I could have hung up my boots. But I didn’t stop there and worked with him in Uttama Villain ,” he went on.

“I can say for sure that cinema is truly a democratic art. Some become hits because of the director and some for the script and story, while some draw attention due to the casting. This film I can say is a combination – it could revolve around director Rajesh, or the star-villain Prakash Raj or the heroine Trisha,” he said.