Kamala Hassan is one of the finest and a versatile undisputed actor in Indian Cinema. His first debut film was "Kalathoor Kannamma" a Tamil movie, which gain him the Presidents Gold Medal for best child artist at the age of four.

His growth as an actor was under the guidance of director, K Balachander which began with “Apoorva Raagangal”. Kamal, who has experimented with characterization has given several unforgettable performances- as a village idiot in 'Padhinaaru Vayadhinile' (Tamil,1977), a love-struck youth in 'Ek duje ke liye' (Hindi, 1981), a mafia boss in 'Naayagan' (Tamil, 1987), a triple role in 'Apoorva Sahodarargal' (Tamil, 1989), a mentally-challenged lover in 'Guna' (Tamil, 1991), a cross-dressed nanny in 'Avvai Shanmughi' (Tamil, 1996), an old patriot in 'Indian' (Tamil, 1996) etc. His production 'Hey Ram' (2000) and 'Aalavandhan' (2001), which Kamal Hassan had also scripted, failed and many thought that his times were over. But 'Anbe Sivam' (2003) and the Tamil remake of the Hindi Comedy 'Munnabhai MBBS' Vasool Raja MBBS (2004) proved his critics wrong.

Besides his mother tongue Tamil, he has also performed in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, etc. Some of his hits in other languages include 'Vishuvijayam', 'Rasaleela, 'Yeeta' and 'Kanyakumariyil oru Kavitha' in Malayalam, 'Swathi Muthiyam' and 'Saagara Sangamam' in Telugu. 'Saagar', 'Ek Duje Ke Liye', 'Chachi 420' in Hindi. He has acted in over 200 movies.

Like many actors, Kamal's personal life has been the subject of media. He was first married to Vani Ganapathy, an actress cum dancer, but got divorced and then married Sarika, a hindi actress. They have two daughters. Now they are seperated.