Chennai: We know him as a filmmaker and actor, but there's another face of superstar Kamal Hassan that he is secretly very proud of — that of a poet.

Recently, at a function organised to honour Sahitya Academy Awardee Pu Vi Arasu, he articulately championed the need for writers to be honoured in the state.

"These awards are not important for them, but they are important because it reminds us about the existence of such great writers," he said at the function.

The actor turned a poet at a very young age and has scribbled lines for several Tamil magazines.

"I have been writing poems since when I shouldn't have been writing. But now people say that what I did was not wrong, and those who say I was wrong are people who know a lot about poetry — some of them are Sahitya Academy Award winners. So, it gives me great confidence to release my poems without fear of literary repercussions," he said.

But right now everyone's looking forward to the return of Kamal Haasan the actor in Dasavatharam.

"The shooting for Dasavatharam is complete. Just some computer graphics work is left. It's technically complicated stuff, but I am sure they are doing their best to release the movie as soon as possible," he said.

According to latest reports, Dasavatharam is scheduled for a January release.