CHENNAI: A very hurt and disappointed Kamal Haasan has maintained a stoic sense of calm, during the entire controversy surrounding his big-budget film ‘Vishwaroopam’. The Tamil superstar has all but insinuated that he has been pushed into bankruptcy, and is facing crippling financial losses due to the delay in the release of his bi-lingual film.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, a broken Kamal Haasan spoke out against the ban slapped on his film, for allegedly hurting sentiments of Muslims. The Tamil Nadu Government had imposed a two-week ban, to ensure that law and order are not disrupted in the state. Since then, Haasan has even faced death threats from fringe groups, and is heartbroken that he had to endure all this in his own homeland.
Haasan chose to match his wardrobe to the sombre atmosphere at the press con, in an all-white ensemble. The superstar was accompanied by Pooja Kumar, the heroine of ‘Vishwaroopam’. Kamal Haasan voiced his gratitude for TN CM Jayalalitha, when he said, “Now that she (Jayalalithaa) has helped us, why should we go (to the Supreme Court)?” However, he stood firm on his resolve to “quit India” if this ever happened to him again. “If this ever happens again, I will leave the country,” Haasan warned.
The Southern superstar even said that he would speak to his “Muslim brothers”; and hoped that it would be a fruitful discussion. “I don’t think the film will have to be chopped. I will talk to my Muslim brothers,” Haasan said here at the press conference.
Moreover, many superstars and film personalities from Bollywood have come out in full support of Haasan. Salman Khan tweeted earlier yesterday: “Hope each and every fan of his (Kamal Haasan) supports him like I am doing and want all my fans to fully support him. Go stand outside the cinema hall and insist on seeing the film. It is a movie dude… for entertainment! What law and order problem on a movie? Go there (cinemas), insist that you want to see it!”
Even filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was visibly upset by the entire fiasco surrounding ‘Vishwaroopam’, when he spoke out in support of Haasan. “It’s unconstitutional to ban a film made by somebody like Kamal Haasan; he is a man with so much experience, he knows what he is making. I don’t understand why every time the film industry is targeted and the onus is shifted to us? If you put a ban on films like this then why do we talk about creative freedom, democracy and freedom of expression”, he said.
