Kamal Haasan masters the Afghan life

Kamal Haasan, who is playing an Afghan mujahideen in his upcoming film, Viswaroopam, has surprised even native Afghans with his preparation for the movie and his role in it.
Sayed Jahid Shah Banoori, an Afghan student based in Bangalore and who plays a minor role in the film, says that he was taken aback on finding the actor so wellprepared. ���We shot in Chennai on a set, which was almost a perfect recreation of Afghanistan.Even the minutest details seemed real ��� be it the houses or the costumes or the mannerisms of women or even the weapons and the way they are used,��� says Sayed, who has earlier worked in Pazhassiraja and is currently in the city, shooting for Vikram���s Karikalan.
Talking about his first encounter with Kamal Haasan, he says, ���When I met him the first time, he was dressed in costume (with a beard and Afghan attire). He asked me to show him how to perform namaaz and after I demonstrated it once, he did it exactly the same way. I was amazed. He is a total professional and has no airs about being a star. And since he was also the director, he ensured that the cast (which included foreigners) was comfortable during the shoot. We shot scenes portraying the cruelty that the Taliban were doing in the name of Islam (like killing and hanging people), the mujahideen playing volleyball and the US soldiers entering Afghanistan.���
Syed adds that during the ���volleyball scene���, Kamal and the cast members even spoke Pashto, the language used by the natives in Afghanistan. But he adds that the actor did not reveal how he had mastered so much of Afghan custom. ���He was not ready to give any information to ayone about the movie or how he prepared for the role,��� he says.