The most hotly anticipated Tamil film of the year is coming this summer and why should you care? Budgeted at a zillion billion crillion rupees the storyline has been kept tightly under wraps but what little has leaked out makes it sound like THE FOUNTAIN dropped into a particle accelerator with time travel, ancient Indian philosophy, natural disasters, disease outbreaks and enormous action scenes. And the trailer is finally out, which really kicks your imagination into overdrive. Plus, the dialogue is by someone named "Crazy Mohan" and the lead actor plays ten different roles, which are reportedly:

- President George Bush

- a 12th Century Vaishnavite

- a scientist

- a 90 year old female dwarf

- an 8-foot tall giant

- a Chinese or Japanese martial arts expert

- a white guy

- a sardarji (Sikh)

- a black guy

Normally, this would be sheer insanity, but the man playing all these parts is quite possibly one of the world's best actors, Kamal Hassan, who has played dwarves, twins and all kinds of weird roles before. Think of him as the Lon Chaney of Tamil cinema, and if you're still a doubter check out his movie, ABHAY, where he plays two brothers, one of whom is a psychotic maniac.

(Kamal Hassan versus Kamal Hassan in ABHAY)

(A great musical number from his film VIRUMAANDI and the adrenaline-pumping bull wrestling scene - Hassan pops up about 6 minutes in)

(Kamal Hassan meets Gandhi in HEY RAM, Hassan's flick where he plays a fundamentalist out to assassinate Gandhi)

(The trailer for DASAVATHARAM)

(More details)

(Thanks to Dave Chute for the head up)