Mumbai, March 19
This has not been a good year for Kamal Haasan. The actor-extraordinaire is being dealt one crippling blow after another by Fate.

"Fate, if that's what you call it, is certainly giving me a lot of attention," said Kamal Haasan mirthlessly, hours after his eldest brother Chandrahasan passed away.

In January, Kamal Haasan lost his bhabhi (sister-in-lw), Chandrahasan's wife. Prior to that, the actor had a nasty fall which almost killed him and has kept him confined to his bed and home for six months now and still some to go.

Right after the multiple fractures in his leg, Kamal Haasan's companion and partner for 13 years Gautami decided to quit the relationship.

The latest tragedy in the family has stunned the Haasans.

"My brother was on the way back from the US where he had gone to be with his son after my bhabhi passed away. We wanted him to get a change of environment. He was with his son for a few months. He was in London with my niece, his daughter, for a short break from his journey when the heart attack happened," said Kamal Haasan.

The family now waits for the body to be released.

"In the UK even a minor heart attack is cause for a post-mortem. We're waiting for the coroner's report before we decide what is to be done. In any case we Hassans are not much into rituals. So it would be a quiet family funeral service. We would request all friends and well-wishers to respect the family's privacy," Haasan added.

Recalling the good times with his brother, Kamal Haasan said: "He was 20 years elder to me and almost a father figure. A lot of what I am was determined by what he was. My brother was completely self-made. Do you know, he washed his own clothes till the very last day of his life.

"When my bhabhi died this year, it somewhere broke him from inside. It was the only time I've seen him break down. I mean, otherwise his eyes would well up during emotional scenes in films. But the first and only time he cried in real life was when he lost his wife.

"He played a very important role in the running of my production house. When 'Vishwaroopam' was in a controversy, he mediated and held peace talks with the protestors. Will I miss him? I suppose I will. He lived a full life. I'd like to live the way he did."

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He lived a full life, says bereaved Kamal Haasan after losing brother