Throwback: How Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan inspired Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill

Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino had mentioned to Anurag Kashyap that he was inspired by an Indian film for a sequence in Kill Bill, which Kashyap recalled to be Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan.

S Devasankar
Written by S Devasankar , Journalist
Updated on Nov 04, 2023 | 02:50 PM IST | 781.4K
How Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill
Throwback: How Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan inspired Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (PC. Kamal Haasan Instagram, Quentin Tarantino Pinkvilla)
Key Highlight
  • Quentin Tarantino revealed to Anurag Kashyap that he was inspired by an Indian film for Kill Bill
  • The Animated sequence in Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhan inspired a similar sequence in Kill Bill

Kamal Haasan is undoubtedly one of the biggest trailblazers in Indian Cinema and has influenced countless filmmakers like Lokesh Kanagaraj, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Karthick Naren, and many more. 

However, Kamal Haasan’s influence does not stop at the nation’s borders. A little-known fact is that Kamal Haasan has indirectly inspired ace Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino in his 2003 film Kill Bill as well.

Quentin Tarantino confirms to Anurag Kashyap that Kill Bill is inspired from Aalavandhan

Anurag Kashyap, apart from being one of the biggest directors in the country, is also a known movie buff. He had come to know that the animated manga sequence in Kill Bill that the Pulp Fiction helmer had used to showcase violence, was inspired by an Indian film.

The director had the opportunity to meet Tarantino at the Venice Film Festival once, and he grabbed the opportunity to ask him about the sequence. Anurag Kashyap then revealed that the director got excited at his question, and responded by saying

“Yes, I saw this Indian serial killer film which showed violence as animated.”

Although Tarantino did not explicitly mention the name of the film, Kashyap was able to connect the dots and said that there has only been one Indian film that has used an animated sequence to show violence that was released before Kill Bill, which was Kamal Haasan’s 2001 film Aalavandhan. 

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Talking about this in a later interview, Kamal Haasan had mentioned that he hoped critics, who had heavily criticized the film, would be kinder to his future experimentations now that he had been endorsed by an internationally renowned filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino.

More about Aalavandhan

Aalavandhan is a 2001 psychological action film which is helmed by Suresh Krissna and written by Kamal Haasan himself. The film features the Vikram actor in a double role and also has Manisha Koirala, Raveena Tandon, Anu Hasan, Milind Gunaji, Sarath Babu, and many more in prominent roles.

The film tells the story of a pair of twins, played by Kamal Haasan, and how one of them suffers from schizophrenia and turns into a psychopath due to childhood trauma. The film was simultaneously shot in Hindi as well, with the title Abhay. The music for the film has been composed by the iconic trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Although the film received mixed reviews at the time of release, it has developed a cult fan following over the years and is considered to be one of the best films in Kamal Haasan’s career.

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ALSO READ: BUZZ: Kamal Haasan, Shankar's collab Indian 2 to release in April; Part 3 slated for Diwali 2024 release

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About The Author

A graduate in Economics, with heart made of cinema, Devasankar is vividly in love with world cinema! A true

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Credits: India Today
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