Kamalahasan made his debut in Malayalam films with the K.S.Sethumadhavan directed "Kannum Karallum" when he was just a kid in 1961. Kamal later played the role of a teenage sculptor in the film "Kanyakumari" for which he won the Filmfare best actor award for the first time. This film too was directed by K.S.Sethumadhavan while being scripted by M.T.Vasudevan.
