CHENNAI: After nearly 10 days of high drama, marked by protests, mediation and negotiations, actor-director Kamal Haasan’s trilingual film “Vishwaroopam” is finally set for release in theatres across Tamil Nadu. The actor agreed to seven demands of Muslim leaders, mostly muting of the audio of portions objected to by them, thus bringing the curtains down on an episode in the history of the Tamil film industry, marred by allegations of infringement of freedom of expression and hurting of communal sentiments.
“I would like to thank the chief minister and the home secretary for facilitating the talks,” said Kamal Haasan, who arrived from Mumbai this morning after his film’s Friday release in theatres in the north. “We discussed many scenes with our Muslim brothers and finally both parties agreed to delete some sound clips from the film,” said Kamal, adding, “We will withdraw our writ petition (in the Madras high court) and hope that the court will lift the ban soon. The release date of the movie will be announced very shortly.” He said the altered film would be sent to the Censor Board of Film Certification for approval.
With state home secretary R Rajagopal playing mediator, the actor and 15 representatives of the Tamil Nadu Federation of Muslim Organizations sat around the negotiating table at the state secretariat and talked for nearly four hours before thrashing out a compromise. The talks began at 3pm and went on until 7pm, when the group emerged to announce a happy ending to the controversy. Reacting strongly to Kamal agreeing to the demands of Muslim leaders, filmmaker K Hariharan said, “It is absurd according to me. Kamal did this under pressure. He can’t do anything about it.”
Pointing out that only Tamil Nadu had a problem and not neighbouring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, which are screening the full version of the film, he said, “This is just to satisfy some egos and for some people to get publicity. Ultimately, the Telugu and Hindi versions will be available on DVDs. Will the protesters seek to censor them too?”
On January 24, bowing to pressures from Muslim leaders demanding a ban on “Vishwaroopam”, the state government directed district collectors to invoke Section 144 of the CrPC and ban the release of the film in theatres across the state for two weeks. The move evoked a volley of protests from Kamal’s fans and prompted Tamil superstar Rajnikanth to issue a statement in support of the actor and his film. Several more actors, producers and directors followed suit, urging the Muslim leaders to back down and allow the release of the film.
After some backroom manoeuvrings, during which actors like Sivakumar and Radhika prevailed upon the government to step in and help release the film, chief minister J Jayalalithaa on January 31 agreed to facilitate talks between the actor and the protesting Muslim groups. On Saturday afternoon, the members of Muslim organizations arrived with 15 demands, including sniping of scenes and background musical scores. The home secretary requested Kamal Haasan to withdraw his petition in the Madras high court to facilitate the dropping of the ban, which technically comes to an end on February 7.
Sources said when the Muslim leaders insisted on their demands, the actor nearly broke down, pointing out the film had been shot with seven cameras and clipping scenes would involve his using a Hollywood studio. Industry sources said it would take another couple of days for the roadblocks to be cleared and the film to be released in the state.
After arriving at a compromise, Kamal and the federation signed an agreement. “The talks were cordial with filmmakers and we all signed a written agreement. They have agreed to mute all the objectionable audio, mostly pertaining to the Quran,” said Mohammad Hanifa, president, Tamil Nadu Federation of Muslim Organizations.
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi chief MH Jawarhirullah, who was also part of the talks, confirmed that seven of their demands had been acceded to. Kamal’s brother and partner in Rajkamal Films Chandra Haasan was also present.
“Both sides were keen to sort out the issue amicably. Kamal was hesitant to delete a few portions as it could have affected the story line,” said a senior officer. The Muslim leaders too gave up a few conditions.
Mohan Raman, actor and film historian, said: “The cuts are fine as Kamal Haasan is the maker of the film. But his arms are tied. What options does he have?” Director Mahesh Bhatt said in an interview that even if Kamal Haasan gets a favourable order from the court, he will need the state government’s full support to release the film successfully. So, this decision makes commercial sense. Those interested in watching the complete version will obviously travel to the neighbouring states.”