CHENNAI: Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' may soon be released in Tamil Nadu, as the actor and the government appear to be inching towards a compromise.
Two press conferences - one by Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and the other by a group of film artists - in quick succession on Thursday afternoon gave enough indication that Vishwaroopam may come out of the tangle.
The first bench of the Madras high court had on Wednesday stalled the release of the movie hardly 15 hours after a single judge bench had allowed it. Following protests by some Muslim groups, the state government has been arguing that the movie could trigger law and order problems across the state.
On Thursday, some film artists and the chief minister spoke separately to the media. Jayalalithaa said there was no political motive behind the government decision to prevent the movie's release.
"The actor could thrash out the differences with the protesting Muslim groups and the government would clear the decks for the film's release. We don't want to harm Kamal or infringe on his freedom of expression," she added.
Soon after the chief minister's press conference, a few Tamil film directors and actors met the press at Kamal's office to indicate that Kamal was open to the idea of a compromise.
"We are ready to talk," said Charuhasan, Kamal's brother and partner in his production house which claims to have pumped in Rs95 crore into 'Vishwaroopam.' actor Radikaa Sarathkumar, wife of South Indian Film Artistes' Association president Sarathkumar, suggested that Kamal initiated the talks as the chief minister had suggested. On Facebook, actor Aravind Swamy posted: " Appreciate the Hon CM's candid talk and the direction given to solve the Viswaroopam crisis. We can see the light now."
Sources said veteran actor Sivakumar, who is seen to be close to Jayalalilthaa, has been playing the prime mediator since Wednesday, when an emotional Kamal threatened to leave Tamil Nadu and the country for a place where he could work in peace. Moments before the first bench stalled the movie release, Kamal had presented a few Muslim leaders with whom he said he had struck a compromise and agreed to remove some scenes from the film. "But he wasn't cowed down by the threat from other quarters," said an insider. "He remained firm that he would go ahead with the release in other states and forego Tamil Nadu since the whole issue has been politicized."
The source said Sivakumar and Radikaa stepped in to reason with Kamal that even if the court gave an order in his favour, the going may get tough as theatre owners could be threatened to stop screening. "A lot of people including directors Mani Ratnam and Bharathiraja have been talking to Kamal, and he seems to have understood the need to initiate talks with the protestors," said a film industry source.
The ice being broken, the talks could well be a formality and the movie could release sooner than the scheduled hearing of the case next Wednesday.
Vishwaroopam may be released soon, compromise on the cards
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Vishwaroopam may be released soon, compromise on the cards
