Mani Ratnam made Kamal Haasan trek 30 miles to world’s third-largest waterfall; they got lost in the jungle, crew fainted: ‘I had to carry Shruti’

Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan reflected on his decades-long partnership with director Mani Ratnam, with whom he is reuniting after 36 years on the upcoming film Thug Life. Narrating a story to illustrate the director’s demanding nature, Kamal Haasan said that they once trekked across mountains because he wanted to shoot at the foot of the world’s third-largest waterfall in Kodaikanal. They ended up getting lost, and at least two assistants fainted on the way. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Kamal said that his daughter Shruti was also with him, and that she had to be carried to safety.

Asked about his intense attitude on set, Kamal said, “Mr Ravi K Chandran, Sabu Cyril, I, my daughter Shruti, late stuntman Vikram Dharma, and three assistants set out to go to the third-tallest waterfall in the world, which is in Kodaikanal. We set off at 7 am. We wanted to go to its base. It’s a long trek through the forest. You can see it from a vantage point about 30 miles away. In the first two hours, the assistant directors fell, fainted, and were bleeding.”

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He said that they soon got lost in the woods, and were rescued by a local. “We lost our way in all this distraction. We couldn’t find our way. Then we found a shepherd; a wiry young guy. He could climb mountains like a grasshopper, on a vertical incline. He told us that we were going in the wrong direction. He took us. And by the time we reached our car, it was evening. Shruti was limp, I had to hold her by her jeans because I didn’t want the same fate for her as the assistant directors. One of the guys got stitches in the head.”

Kamal said that this was when he decided to always be kind to his crew. “I lived to tell the story, but… He doesn’t care about food, but I care about food, especially for the crew. He hasn’t mellowed, and I wouldn’t want him to, but he has refined himself. He has slowed down for others to catch up to him,” he said. The legendary pair will unite for the first time in nearly four decades for Thug Life, which is set to be released in June.