Kamal Haasan-Rekha reminisce about their yesteryear connection

At 72, MP (Member of the Rajya Sabha) and filmmaker-actor Kamal Haasan stands tall. The Padma Bhushan recipient has had an exemplary film career that began when he debuted as a six-year-old in the Tamil film Kalathur Kannamma, in which he shared screen space with Tamil cinema legend Gemini Ganesan. 

Gemini Ganesan, also known as Kaadal Mannan (King of Romance), is the father of Bollywood cinema legend Rekha. So, when Kamal recently gave Rekha the Lifetime Achievement Award at INCA (India National Cine Academy) 2026 in Mumbai, both superstars went down nostalgia lane.

Fortunate to have legendary connections always

On another recent occasion, Kamal, the MNM Chief, said in an impassioned speech that he had sat on the laps of Indian cinema icons and stalwarts, MGR and Sivaji Ganesan, because he had started his career as a child artiste. However, he claimed he had never taken advantage of his proximity to such legends. Back in the 60s, when Kamal was barely knee-high, M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan were the ‘first’ triumvirate of Tamil cinema. And Haasan was fortunate to have literally sat in their laps.