Personal life[edit]

Family[edit]

Haasan was born into a Tamil Iyengar family[82] in the town

of Paramakudi, in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, to
criminal defense lawyer D. Srinivasan and Rajalakshmi a housewife.
[83]
 During 2013 his daughter Shruti Hassan appeared on an episode
of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi, where "phone a friend" option is
availed to Shruti and when she called her father Kamal, he stated
that his parents named him Parthasarathy before he was called as
Kamal Haasan and his mother always used to call him by that name.
[84]
 In an interview with Karan Thapar, Haasan said his father was
literate in Sanskrit. Haasan was the youngest of four children; his
siblings are Charuhasan, Chandrahasan and Nalini (Raghu). His
two older brothers followed their father's example and studied law.
[85]
 Haasan continued his education in Sir M.Ct. Muthiah Chettiar
boys higher secondary school, Madras[86] and Hindu Higher
Secondary School, Madras (now Chennai).

Haasan has alluded to his parents in some of his works,

notably Unnaipol Oruvan and in the song "Kallai Mattum"
in Dasavathaaram.[87] His oldest brother Charuhasan, like Haasan, is
a National Film Award-winning actor who appeared in
the Kannada film Tabarana Kathe. Charuhasan's
daughter Suhasini is also a National Film Award winner married to
director (and fellow award-winner) Mani Ratnam, who collaborated
with Haasan on 1987's Nayakan.[88] Chandrahasan has produced
several of Haasan's films and was an executive with Raaj Kamal
Films International, he died in March 2017.[89] Chandrahasan's
daughter Anu Hasan has had supporting roles in several films,
including Suhasini's Indira. Haasan's sister, Nalini Raghu, is a dance
teacher for whom he named an auditorium (Nalini Mahal). [90] Her
son, Gautham, played Haasan's grandson in "Hey Ram".

Relationships[edit]

Haasan with daughters Shruti (left) and Akshara (right)

In 1978, at age 24, Haasan married dancer Vani Ganapathy.[91] She

acted with Haasan in the 1975 movie Melnaattu Marumagal, after
they were married Vani, worked as Haasan's costume designer for
several movies. They divorced ten years later.

Haasan and actress Sarika began living together in 1988, marrying

after the birth of their first child, Shruti (born 1986). Shruti is a
singer and a Tollywood-Kollywood actress. Their younger daughter,
Akshara (born 1991), was assistant director for
2013's Vishwaroopam and actress for 2019's Kadaram Kondan.
Sarika stopped acting soon after their marriage, Sarika worked as
Haasan's costume designer for the movie Hey Ram and won
the National Film Award for Best Costume Designer.[92][93] In 2002,
the couple filed for divorce, which became final in 2004. [94] After
their divorce, Sarika acted in movies and TV serials, winning
the National Film Award for Best Actress for the 2005
film Parzania.

Haasan had a relationship with actress Gautami, Haasan's frequent

co-star during the late 1980s and early 1990s, from 2005 till 2016.
Gautami had announced on her blog that she had ended her
relationship with him.[4] Gautami wrote on her blog: "It is
heartbreaking for me to have to say today that I and Mr. Haasan
are no longer together. After almost 13 years together, it has been
one of the most devastating decisions that I have ever had to make in
my life,".[95]

Early in his career, he co-starred in several films with Srividya.

They were reported to have had an affair during the 1970s and their
relationship was depicted in the 2008 Malayalam
film Thirakkatha directed by Renjith (with Anoop Menon as Haasan
and Priyamani as Srividya). Haasan visited Srividya when she was
on her deathbed in 2006.[96]

Views[edit]

Haasan is a self-proclaimed atheist.[97] He has often questioned the

existence of God and has highlighted the theme in his films
like Anbe Sivam and Dasavathaaram.[98] He has been thought to
be Muslim because of his Arabic-sounding name, most notably when
he was denied preclearance by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection authorities at Toronto Pearson International Airport in
2002.[99] In Sanskrit Kamal means "lotus", but it was rumoured that
his name originated with a friend of his father (Yaakob Hassan, a
Muslim freedom fighter who was imprisoned along with Haasan's
father by the British). In a BBC interview with Karan Thapar,
Haasan said that his last name derives from the Sanskrit
word hasya, and although the Yaakob Hassan connection was
publicised by the media it was only "a story". [85] Although he
initially abstained from politics, Haasan is considered left-
leaning or independent.[100] He also said that his politics would result
in his death within a year.[101]

Humanitarian work[edit]