Kamal Hassan

There are two versions regarding his entry into films. One version has it that, as a little boy, he accompanied a doctor who went to treat an ill woman at the home of movie mogul A V Meyyappa Chettiar (father of AVM Saravanan). On hearing loud shouting from a first-floor tenant of the bungalow, the doctor became uneasy. Young Kamal Haasan strode up the stairway to ask the noisemaker not to shout over the phone as someone was ill, leaving the person astonished. An impressed Meyyappa Chettiar later provided him an entry into films.The other version is that when young boy Kamal Haasan accompanied a family doctor of Meyyappa Chettiar to his house, producer AVM Saravanan noticed Kamal as a hyperactive child. He took him over and introduced to AV Meyyappa Chettiar who was looking for a young boy to play a role in the movie Kalathur Kannamma.

Kamal Haasan was six-years-old when he faced the camera for the first time in Kalathur Kannamma, which was directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film was released on 12 August 1960. The film starred veteran actor Gemini Ganesan and won the President's Gold Medal. Following his successful debut, he starred in five more films as a child actor sharing screen space with Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran. Kamal Haasan's family was very supportive of his interest in the performing arts. He joined a theatre repertory, TKS Nataka Sabha, that was headed by T.K. Shanmugam. He continued his school education at the Hindu High School in Triplicane. The time spent as part of the theatre company shaped Kamal Haasan's craft and was instrumental in his interest in makeup.

Kamal Haasan, a Padma Shri awardee, is the most decorated actor in the history of Indian cinema.At the age of seven, he won the President's Gold Medal for his debut film Kalathur Kannamma.Haasan holds the record for the most number of National Film Awards—three Best Actor awards and one award for producing the Best Regional Film—for an actor. The 1992 Tamil film Thevar Magan which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil was produced by Kamal Haasan. Moreover, Haasan holds a record nineteen Filmfare Awards, ranging across five languages. After his latest award in 2000, he wrote to the organization requesting exemption from further awards.

In 2003, his films Hey Ram, Pushpak, Nayagan and Kuruthipunal were showcased under the "Director in Focus" category at the Rotterdam Film Festival.In 2004, Virumaandi won the very first "Best Asian film" award at Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan).

In 2005, Sathyabama Deemed University awarded Kamal Haasan an honorary doctorate.[100] He received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema at the 2006 ceremony of the inaugural Vijay Awards.[101] He received the Living Legend Award in 2007 from FICCI, which recognizes outstanding personalities from the entertainment arena and honors them with awards at their annual global convention, FRAMES.

In 2010, the United Progressive Alliance government organised a retrospective of Kamal Haasan's films. During that event, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the actor fell under a special category, as his cinema broke barriers of language and region.The same year, the Government of Kerala honoured him for completing 50 years in Indian cinema during the inauguration of statewide Onam celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kamal Haasan is also a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1979. Other recognitions includes a string of Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Nandi Awards, Screen Awards and Vijay Awards, including four separate awards for his performance in Dasavathaaram. In 2009, Kamal Haasan was appointed as the chairman of FICCI Media and Entertainment Business Conclave, organised by the entertainment division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He has recently been roped in to be part of academic advisory council for ISFM (International school of Film+Media). Kamal Hassan was also recently invited on board an American ship as a special friend of the US Government.