Revealed: Story behind the Kamal Haasan starrer Guna (Birthday Edition)

Iconic actor Kamal Haasan turned 62 today and wishes from his fans, colleagues and friends have been pouring in on the internet. One such heart-felt wish has been published by John Edathattil aka Sab John who is better known as the writer of Haasan's movies Chaanakyan (1989) and the cult romantic drama Guna (1991). Edathattil, who is currently the creative director of Chennai based venture named Irene Cooper, decided to give us a peek into how Guna came to life on Kamal Haasan's birthday.

Titled Twenty Five Years of Guna, A Birthday Gift To Dr. Kamal Haasan, his message reads:

"...I wish Dr. Haasan a wonderful day today and the days to come, by this special way, absolutely unseen but discussed by great many others...."

He reveals that he wrote the script of this Santhana Bharathi directorial during an ongoing situation in his personal life. He also adds that, during this scripting time he had to face sleep deprived nights and a high pressure situation.

"...I wanted to redefine my life, my outlook to love, and my anguish to challenge a system that values just the benefits of love. Three long gruelling days of sleepless nights, heated arguments and familial denials over my life situation, had crushed me into an emotional vacuum, not to mention an imminent peer pressure that i had to present the story to Dr. Haasan on that Monday forenoon"

And during his journey from Alleppey to Chennai was when it all dawned on him. The idea behind the core script of Guna was taken from his then current life situation. He has explained them as such:

" Through the flight, I scribbled, mad like Guna, to gather at least a ray of light for my life, my Abhirami. And soon it dawned; unadulterated love is nest defined by an imbalanced mind...."

"Why did you take so long to tell this story to me?" [Kamal Haasan] "

 I said: I didn't know this story till a few hours ago"

 

He attributes his identity to Hassan's iconic performance of a lunatic. Edathattil concludes by saying that he senses pride in knowing that twenty five years since, Guna still finds a way into people's hearts. With Edathattil choosing an apt occasion to take us back in time, his memoir seems like the perfect birthday present for the legendary actor. Here's a detailed look into what he wrote: (Click Here)