He has spent a half century under the arc lights, acted in more than 200 films in different Indian languages, won four national awards for his incredible acting skills and has tried his hands as a songwriter, playback singer and choreographer. Having a plethora of good films to his credit, the multi-talented Kamal Haasan is now ready with his upcoming movie Vishwaroopam.

“It is a well-crafted fast paced thriller with great talent behind and in front the screen,” says the 58-year old veteran who has written, directed and co-produced Vishwaroopam.

“Though it is based on an international subject revolving around terrorism, it does not move away from India,” shares the actor. So how is it different from others based on similar subjects? “I can say we tried to be different in our approach while dealing with the subject. The differences will be noticeable technically and editing wise. Our art director from Vietnam has made the film look absolutely different.”

It cannot be denied that ‘Vishwaroopam’ is different from other movies as it will be first-of-its-kind that will be premiered on DTH 12 hours before its theatrical release. This has led to lot of trouble for Kamal when Tamil Nadu theatre organisation protested against the move. “The DTH issue was always on our side. We had to come to a consensus in South,” says Kamal, whose movie will be premiered on Airtel DTH, before it hits the big screen on January 11, 2013.

But controversies are not new for the actor. His movies like Hey Ram! and Dasavatharam have faced ire too. “Don’t you think to remain in headlines is a nice thing?” he asks with a smile. “It is my conscious decision to make a film that is most talked about. My intent is to entertain, make you cry and laugh in those three hours which you invest in us,” says one of the moghuls of the trade.

What makes his upcoming flick more interesting is Kamal’s tryst with classical dance. Kamal, a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, trained for Kathak from Pt Birju Maharaj for a sequence in the film. “I waited for 40 long years to work with him. I tried to bring him into my films several times but it could never happen. The first question he asked when I approached him was how I will learn the dance within a month or a two.”

Actor-turned-filmmaker Shekher Kapur will also be seen sharing screen space with Kamal for the first time. “We have been planning to make a film together for last 30 years. It was either he directs it and I act or vice versa. Finally, I decided to direct a film and asked him to act.”

Ask him if big budget films, in order to cross the now fashionable 100 crore mark compromise on creativity, Kamal replies, “We should talk about content because if that is lacking then a 150 crores project will also turn out to be a flop. The numbers will definitely prove that it was not a clever project. Besides, one cannot be always number crunching. It is about dedication.”