Controversy on Uttama Villain, Haasan comes to rescue again

Now that Uttama Villain is all geared up for its grand release, the Kamal Haasan is trying his best to clear the bush surrounding his much-awaited film. Well, the tale started a year ago when a few people alleged that the poster of the film is inspired by an image taken by French photographer, Eric Lafforgue. However, the Padma Bhushan actor defended himself, saying, “Theyyam is a 1000-year-old Indian art form; i don't need to copy it from a French photographer. If a French photographer comes to India and photographs a temple built by Krishnadevaraya, will it become his? And can you then say that we copied it from them?"

Source: iflickz.com

"I tried to combine two ancient art forms -Onvillu and Theyyam and bring it into a movie. Even Karnataka's Yakshagana was born out of this ancient temple dance (Theyyam). The face painting style that you see in the posters is over a thousand years old... in the temples, Theyyam artistes still do it with natural colours and they don't even use a brush." the ace actor-filmmaker further informs, adding, "For me, this controversy is just an uniformed mind's contrived imagination."

Interestingly, the film revolves around an ageing superstar. So is Kamal playing himself in the film. “I am not playing myself. It's another way of looking at a villain.It is a family drama, but at the same time it also has got a bit of the magical folklore element of a Vittalacharya film," he says, adding, "I even learnt Theyyam for this film."

The legendary actor says, "I would like to act in another Telugu film, but I haven't been approached by Telugu filmmakers. I acted in only two straight Telugu films in the last two decades, one of which I produced."