Kamal Hassan's father, Srinivasan Ayyengar was an attorney and his mother is Rajalakshmi. He studied up to Std VIII.
Beyond that, the actor had no formal education.He was married to danseuse Vani Ganapati for 10 years before they got a divorce in 1988. Later, he married actress Sarika and they have two daughters, Shruti and Akshara.
The couple got a divorce in 2002. Kamal Hassan's brothers are Charu Hassan and Chandra Hassan. Kamal Hassan has acted as a child artiste in the films Kalathur Kannamma, Paarthal Pasi Theerum and a few others.Kamal Hassan debuted in the film Arangetram (1973) starring Siva Kumar and Prameela.
In 1977, he got his first commercial success with 16 Vayathinile with Sridevi and Rajnikant.Kamal Hassan is also called Chameleon Kamal as he has played more variety of roles than any other actor.
A ventriloquist in Avargal, a psychopath serial killer of women in Sigappu Rojakkal, a deranged obsessive lover in Guna, a blind violinist in Raja Paarvai and a classical dancer in Saagara Sangamam are few of his various roles.Seven of Kamal Hassan's movies have been sent as India's official entries to the Oscars.
Besides his mother tongue Tamil, he has also performed in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies.Kamal Hassan's Bollywood debut Ek Duje Ke Liye was one of the biggest grossing films of all time in Indian cinema.
In 1990, Kamal Hassan became the recipient of the Padmashri award, the fourth highest recognition given to Indian civilians.In 2005, he launched a new business unit called Raj Kamal Audio.Kamal Hassan's upcoming Tamil film is titled Dashavatharam opposite Mallika Sherawat. He will be playing 10 different roles in the movie.
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter, producer and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting.
Kamal Haasan has won several Indian film awards, including four National Film Awards and numerous Filmfare Awards, and is known for having starred in the largest number of films submitted by India in contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In addition to acting, screenwriting and directing, he has also featured in films as a songwriter, playback singer and choreographer. His film production company, Rajkamal International, has produced several of his films.
In 1990, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian cinema. Kamal Haasan is also a recipient of an Honorary doctorate by Sathyabama University. In 2009, he became one of very few Indian actors to have completed 50 years in cinema.
After several projects as a child artist, Kamal Haasan's breakthrough into lead acting came with his role in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, in which he played a rebellious youth in love with an older woman.
He secured his second Indian National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who tends a child-like amnesiac in 1982's Moondram Pirai.
He was particularly noted for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Godfatheresque Tamil film Nayagan (1987), which was ranked by Time magazine as one of the best films of all time.
Since then he has gone on to appear in other notable films such as his own productions, Hey Ram and Virumaandi, as well as the Dasavathaaram, in which he appeared in ten distinct roles.
