Kamal and Marathi films

When Kamalhaasan speaks, I usually listen. The interviews are usually quite interesting and insightful. I don't grudge him what people think of as his arrogance. I consider that more of super-confidence. I don't care that sometimes he freaks out big time in his films. He is among the few who in doing that can actually push the boundaries of Indian filmmaking. So I listen whenever he has something to say.

Rediff has a two part interview: Link to Part 1 and Link to Part 2. In the second one, he has a very interesting take on an unlikely topic: Marathi cinema. To quote:

In fact, I am seriously thinking of doing a Marathi film.

Do you know Marathi?

I can manage. I didn't know Malayalam, Telugu or Hindi [earlier].

Marathi culture is a great culture which is as old and important as Tamil culture. It is a bigger state too. It is a pity they have given up all their culture to Hindi cinema. I don't know why they don't have the vernacular pride that Tamilians have. They should be producing 100 films a year.

I would love to act in a Marathi film, on my terms. I am not talking about money. It should be a good film.

I would agree with him broadly, as Marathi cinema hasn't touched the same heights that its literature and poetry have, to cite a few aspects. Good actors such as Vikram Gokhale, the late Mohan Gokhale, Amol Palekar and Atul Kulkarni have been gifted to the national scene, but not enough happens at home. I wonder what my Marathi friends have to say about the above quote.

While in the realms of imagination, it would be awesome to have a film made by Amol Palekar starring the great man!