Actor Kamal Haasan took to Twitter on Friday to recall his two meetings with the late British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday at the age of 96. The longest-reigning monarch of Britain, she sat on the throne for over 70 years. She met Kamal twice, once during her India visit in 1997 and the second during the actor’s visit to the Buckingham Palace in 2017. Kamal recalled how he hosted her for what was ‘ probably the only film shoot she ever attended’.
Queen Elizabeth had visited the sets of Kamal’s ambitious movie Marudhanayagam in Chennai in 1997. The film, which was eventually shelved, was to be the biggest Indian movie ever. The queen had inaugurated the shoot along with the then Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi. Recalling this, Kamal tweeted in Tamil on Friday, “I was saddened to hear the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England. She was loved not only by the British but also by the whole world. 25 years ago, she accepted our invitation and attended the opening ceremony of Marudhanayakam. It was probably the only film shoot she attended.”
Kamal shared a picture of himself greeting the queen from when he visited the Buckingham Palace in London back in 2017. “I still vividly remember meeting her at the Palace 5 years ago at a cultural event in London. My deepest condolences to the people of England and the Royal Family for the loss of their beloved Queen,” he further wrote.
Kamal Haasan was directing and producing Marudhanayagam while also playing the role of 18th-century warrior Muhammed Yusuf Khan. It was estimated to be made on a budget of ₹85 crore in that time but couldn’t be made as an international company funding the budget backed out.
Even Kate Winslet was offered the lead female role of Marsha in the film but she refused, making Kamal go to Europe in search of the suitable star cast. At the grand Chennai event, Queen Elizabeth was shown a teaser at the launch, which was a battle scene that cost Kamal Haasan over ₹1 crore.