Kamal Hassan idolizes Shivaji Ganesan and Dilip Kumar

Kamal Haasan, who is himself a film icon, is a huge fan of legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar, who celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday. Kamal said he idolizes two actors -- Shivaji Ganesan and Dilip Saab. "I grew up hero-worshipping Shivaji Ganesan. He was like the guiding sun in my life. Then I discovered an entire galaxy in Dilip Saab. I discovered Dilip Saab rather late. It took me a long time to learn to appreciate him. I belong to another culture, another generation. The first film of Dilip Saab that I saw was Mughal-e-Azam. He touched something deep within me as an actor”.

The megastar added, “You have to be an actor to fully understand what Dilip Saab achieves through his performances. I am still in the process of discovering his virtuosity. Actually I was introduced to Hindi cinema very late. The first Hindi film I saw wasPadosan, and that too because I was told that the Tamil community was lampooned in the film through Mehmood Saab's character. I ended up becoming a fan of Hindi cinema” Kamal said when he saw Dilip Kumar inMughal-e-Azam, it changed his life.

“It re-defined my attitude to acting. I thought that was the ultimate. Then when I came to Mumbai to doEkDuuje Ke LiyeI met Javed Akhtar Saab. I told him I am a fan of Dilip Saab although I had seen just one filmMughal-e-Azam. He advised urged and implored me to seeGanga Jumna. I saw it. I couldn't stop raving about it. Just looking at Dilip Saab inGanga Jumna, I got all the inspiration that I needed”.