JUNE05 --- A wise Call - Kamalhaasan

Actor Kamal Haasan was at his scintillating best at a recently concluded screenwriting workshop in the city. He shared his opinions about films and filmmaking with other dignitaries from the film industry for the benefit of students attending the workshop.“The length of films is bound to change as attention spans are getting shorter,” the star said in reply to a question that was posed to him during the discussion that was held in the presence of mediapersons. “Platforms are going to vary and we’ll have to be ready for changes,” he added.The actor also clarified his stance on the issue of songs and dance. “There have been reports that I am against the song-and-dance routine. I am not. What I am against is monoculture. Why should all films have songs is what I ask,” he said.Kamal Haasan also clarified why there were anti-Hindi agitations in TN during the 60s. “This is a land where we protested against Hindi. This must have given the impression that we hated the language. But, we didn’t. We were only protestingan attempt by the Central government to give government jobs to only those who knew Hindi,” the star explained.