My guru K Balachander was the one who made me take the plunge into acting: Vikram star Kamal Haasan

During the success meet of Kamal Haasan's recent outing, Vikram, the Ulaganayagan stated that he wouldn't have become an actor had the late director K Balachander not pushed him to face the camera. Speaking at the event, Kamal Haasan said, "I had only nurtured the ambition to get into the film industry somehow and and I was ready to do any job pertaining to films. It was my guru K Balachander who pushed me into acting. He asked me, "Do you want to come to studio in an autorickshaw? Don't you want to build a house? Go and become an actor." I told him that I wanted to become a technician like him. To which he again said, "I want you to get a car, but you are stuck to an autorickshaw." Later, when I turned an actor, I thought that if KB sir gave me different roles, that would be good enough.

Kamal Haasan added that he was lucky to have found a guru like him, who identified his talent. " I know that there have been many more talented people than me who either did not get an opportunity to show their prowess or did not get a good guru like me."

He also advised the director of Vikram, Lokesh Kanagaraj, to become a teacher. "I have learnt that one needs to make a good film to be proud of it. Just because it's my film, I cannot call it good. The audience have to say that. If you want to learn more about anything, you have to become the teacher. Never restrict any knowledge to yourself. Keep sharing it, that way everyone will grow. A physics professor who had been teaching a chapter for over 30 years, once broke into tears. When asked why, he said that he finally understood the chapter himself. Just because Ilaiyaraaja shared his music, will everyone become a composer? No, so keep sharing and spreading knowledge. Kamal Haasan added that one reason Vikram became such a roaring success was because people who had absolutely no connection with the film, also wished it a huge success.