Banned in TN, but Kamal film’s Hindi version released across India

"Vishwaroop’, the Hindi version of actor-director Kamal Haasan's controversial Tamil film 'Vishwaroopam', released across India on Friday with varying response but it remained banned in Tamil Nadu.

The 149-minute movie released in 1,000 screens without trouble, including in Delhi, industry sources said. Security was, however, particularly high at cinema halls in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai over fear of protests by Muslims.

The original Tamil-Telugu 'Vishwaroopam' was banned in Tamil Nadu last month for 15 days after 24 Muslim groups objected to certain scenes of the film as derogatory to their community. The controversy surrounding the movie, whose story revolves around an al-Qaida plot and an Indian couple in the US, seems to have sparked increased interest among viewers in north India.

In Delhi, the spectator response was "okay" but the collections could pick up over the weekend, said Anant Verma, director and business head, DT Cinemas. "Whoever has seen the movie has liked it, be it people from south or north India," Verma said. "The publicity the movie got is working in its favour. We are expecting a hike (in collections) over the weekend."

He said there had been no security issue at any of his halls in Delhi, and "everything is under control". "The occupancy for the first show was 55-60 percent but that is how it is every Friday," he said.

Kamal Haasan said on Thursday that he had incurred a loss of Rs 30-60 crore because of the delays in the movie's release in Tamil Nadu.

The film has also been banned in Qatar, the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. But it has released in the US and Canada.

- Asian Tribune -