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Vishwaroopam: To screen or not to screen will depend on President
View(s):By Sonja Candappa
The decision to screen or not to screen here the controversial South Indian film “Vishwaroopam” will be taken after President Mahinda Rajapaksa views it on his return from Bodh Gaya.
“Once the decision is made, we will take immediate action either to screen it or ban it,” Cabinet spokesman, Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the Sunday Times. “I think we want things to settle down a little because there was a lot of agitation.”
“Vishwaroopam”, a spy thriller by Indian actor and director Kamal Haasan, was temporarily banned in Sri Lanka after an Islamic organisation Tawheed Jamaath wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa protesting that the film was disrespectful of Islam.
The Muslim Media Forum (MMF) too on viewing the film on the request of Senior Minister A. H.M. Fowzie said it was unsuitable for public viewing. However, the organisation’s President N.M. Ameen this week said if Muslim groups in India could have reached an agreement with Mr. Haasan regarding an edited version of the film being screened there, his union too would not object to it being shown here.
The two-and-a-half hour film was banned last month in Tamil Nadu after Muslims protested it ridiculed their religion. Malaysia too disallowed its screening. On Thursday, however, Tamil Nadu lifted the ban following negotiations between Mr. Haasan and protesting groups.
The audio was edited out in seven scenes. The director in a statement that, “Nothing is lost except the sounds of the Koran recital and a few dialogues by Omar Qureshi in the film. So finally what “Vishwaroopam” lost was just some sound clips. No visuals were touched. The visual part of “Vishwaroopam” is intact.”
Following the editing, the film was released in more than 500 theatres in Chennai on Thursday. Indian newspapers reported that about 56,000 police officers were deployed to ensure there was no trouble.
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