Kamal Haasan fans were not surprised that the versatile actor has been interviewed for an Australian biography on the immortal Charlie Chaplin.

Kamal Hassan is an avowed admirer of the pioneering comedian and has portrayed the role of a tramp.

The innovative Tamil filmmaker is known to intersperse his epic efforts like "Hey Ram!", "Thevar Magan", "Nayakan" and "Veerumandi" with breezy comedies bearing his inimitable imprint.

In a recent TV interview, Kamal Hassan said it was harder to play the comedian than the tragedian.

"If you can't make a sad face, you can just shake your shoulders and a camera cleverly placed behind you can make you appear like you are sobbing uncontrollably.

"No such tricks are available for the comedian," he said.

His favourites among Tamil comedians are the late N.S. Krishnan and Nagesh, still going strong as a character actor.