Controversies related to Vishwaroopam

The 2013 Indian film Vishwaroopam was in the news for several critically viewed controversies. The first of this kind was the title naming issue, where the Hindu Makkal Katchi party demanded the change from its current Sanskrit title to a purely Tamil one.[1] When Kamal Haasan announced a direct-to-home (DTH) premiere of the film, theatre owners demanded a rollback of this plan, as they feared major revenue losses to DTH companies. Threatened by a complete theatre boycott of Vishwaroopam, Haasan agreed to release the film first in theatres.[2] Later, Muslim groups in Tamil Nadu demanded the ban of the film and claimed, that the film would hurt Muslim sentiments.[3] Although the film was cleared by Central Board of Film Certification of India, district collectors in the state of Tamil Nadu gave orders to the theatre owners to not show Vishwaroopam, citing law and order problems, however the film released in other states with greater Muslim populations than in Tamil Nadu.[4] The ban in Tamil Nadu triggered the stop of screenings in neighbouring Indian states as well as a few foreign markets.[5]

The film fraternity of India condemned the actions instructed by Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalitha as a critical attack on freedom of speech in India,[6] but she denied all allegations against her regarding political and business interests.[7] After persistent pressure to cut the film by allegedly objectionable scenes, Kamal Haasan said, he could be forced to leave the state of Tamil Nadu and India, because he was "fed up at being played around in a dirty political game".[8] He estimated the loss of revenues, due to banning policies, somewhere between ₹300–600 million.[9] A mutual agreement with the Muslims of Tamil Nadu was finally settled on 2 February 2013, when Haasan accepted to mute five scenes.[10]

Title naming

In June 2012, the film ran into trouble with the Hindu Makkal Katchi who demanded that the title be changed. They claimed that Vishwaroopam was a Sanskrit word rather than a Tamil word, and argued that Kamal Haasan was being against his native language - Tamil - by naming the film in another language, citing "Kamal Haasan, who has been in the industry for more than half a century must be an example for young film makers to take up Tamil titles for their films."[1] The same political party had earlier protested against the song Kannodu Kannai Kalandhal in Haasan's Manmadhan Ambu (2010), following which it was removed from the film.[11][12]

Direct-to-home release

Vishwaroopam was about to see its premiere on direct-broadcast satellite, or direct-to-home (DTH), platforms, wherein Haasan had roped in many DTH operators for the simultaneous release on DTH along with the theatrical release.[13] However, it was later reported that the concept would be dropped after the Tamil Nadu theatre organisations protested against such a television release.[14] Reports again emerged that Hasaan is keen on releasing Vishwaroopam on DTH platform, stating "If only three percent of population in Tamil Nadu use DTH services, then how much loss can one show of my film possibly cause the producers or theatre owners?". He also added that it would be one time show, few hours before the film actually releases in theatres and would approximately cost ₹1,000 (US$15).[15][16] Talks with theatre owners ended in a compromise, where the DTH version would be released one week after the theatrical release in Tamil and Telugu and one day after its release in Hindi in North India, on 2 February.[2] However, Haasan filed a complaint at the Competition Commission of India against the Tamil Nadu theatre owners association for "anti-competitive practices" in restricting the release of Vishwaroopam. The CCI ordered a probe by its investigation arm Director General as there exists a comparable prima facie case.[17]

Islamic protests and banning

Islamic organizations had earlier demanded that the film be screened to them prior to its release, expressing concern over the depiction of the community in the film. Haasan had organized a special screening of the film for them following their demand.[3] However, the screening of the film had been put on hold for 15 days by the government of Tamil Nadu under Section 144 of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code, due to persistent allegations made by Islamic organisations including the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham (TMMK),[18] while negotiations are still in progress.[19] TMMK leader M. H. Jawahirullah claimed,[20] "There is a danger that the public may view any Muslim with a beard as a terrorist waiting for an opportunity to plant a bomb". Kamal Haasan released a protest note, criticising them for using an "icon bashing" tactic in order to politically profile themselves. Contrary to Jawahirullah, he also stated, that the movie would be giving Muslims a sense of pride.[21] Haasan took the matter to the Madras High Court, seeking an immediate rollback of the government ban on the basis of approval by the Central Board of Film Certification,[22] however justice K. Venkatraman stayed the screening of Vishwaroopam until 28 January, delaying the release in Tamil Nadu for three days, to review the film.[23][24][25] The Madras High Court uphold the ban in Tamil Nadu on 30 January 2013.[26][27] As a reason was suggested, that the judge was awaiting the result of Haasan's other case against District collectors, who gave orders to ban the film's release.[28][29] The Andhra Pradesh government stopped the screening in Hyderabad and other areas, where the Milad-un-Nabi festival is celebrated by Muslims,[30] while a precautious stop of screenings was enacted by the distributor in Bangalore in light of Tamil Nadu's ban.[31] Kerala saw an unlimited release of the film, although some Muslim outfits were reportedly arrested by the police of Kerala for disrupting screenings.[4] In Thiruvananthapuram, a group of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) supporters took out a protest demonstration to the theatre complex.[32]

The film was later confirmed to release on 26 January in Hyderabad and on 27 January in 25 theatres across Karnataka including 15 in Bangalore.[33][34] Despite protests Vishwaroopam was screened in Karnataka on 26 January 2013 itself. Screening of the film was disrupted in some parts of Mysore, Bangalore, and Shimoga districts following protests.[35] However, Vishwaroopam was taken off theatres across Karnataka following police advisory.[36] Meanwhile, theatres in Malaysia and Sri Lanka removed the film, citing the ban in Tamil Nadu.[37][38][39] The film was released in Uttar Pradesh, where leaders initially reserved a possible ban for the film, without any major incidences.[40]

Haasan said that he would file a petition in the Supreme Court to overturn the ban. Haasan expressed grief during a press conference he held at his residence, which he had pawned as part of securing the budget for Vishwaroopam. At the widely broadcast press conference, which numerous film personalities from Tamil cinema had attended in solidarity, he stated his intent of leaving Tamil Nadu for some other secular state in India.[41] Kamal Haasan said, "I mean no harm. The film is not about hurting Muslims. The good Muslims in the films are Indians and bad Muslims are terrorists who are not from India. How can I paint terrorist...terrorism white."[42] For further talks, the Muslim party demanded a cut of around nine minutes of the film.[43] Chief Minister Jayalalithaa defended the government's action, stating it was not in a position to provide security across all 524 theatres where it was to be screened from 25 January. A mutual agreement was finally settled on 2 February 2013, when Haasan agreed to mute five scenes.[10] The Malaysian government will hold a meeting with distributor of Vishwaroopam to find a solution to lift the ban on it.[44][45] The National Censorship Board and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department reviewed the film and the Home ministry lifted the ban on 19 February 2013.[46]

Reactions

These developments have been widely criticised by several filmmakers and politicians alike. Backing Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth stated,

"The fact that Kamal Haasan held a special screening of the movie to Muslim brothers meeting their demand despite being cleared by the Censor Board shows his respect for the community. Kamal is not an ordinary artiste. He is a great artiste who had taken Tamil cinema to the global level. I request my Muslim brothers to factor in this and change their stand of demanding for a complete ban".[47]

Leela Samson, chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, condemned the allegations of the film being anti-Islamic stating that:

"It is clearly cultural terrorism and the demand for a ban shows complete disregard to the certification given by a statutory body called the Censor Board. My team would have taken action if only the film had any objectionable content. A film goes through several levels before getting passed by the Censor Board".[48]

Shah Rukh Khan, who also faced obstructions during the release of Billu Barber (2009) and My Name is Khan (2010) and whose Red Chillies VFX was responsible for Vishwaroopam's visual effects, expressed sympathies for Haasan's situation, stating that a ban is "the most unfortunate thing to happen to a film".[49] The banning of Vishwaroopam was deemed "unfair" by Prakash Raj, who stated that "cultural terrorism should stop".[50] The film's ban was decried by Ajith Kumar who questioned whether India was "a secular nation or being played on the basis of vote bank politics".[51] Fellow filmmaker P. Bharathiraja compared Haasan along the likes of Bharathiyar for his bold statements on social issues in his films.[52] Demonstrating solidarity, Vijay and the crew of Thalaivaa halted filming until the release of Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu.[53] Actor-director R. Parthiban stated that "people are the best judges and that they should decide on whether the film is against a community or not".[52] Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt stated that humiliation of an "immaculate actor" and "national treasure" is "one of the darkest moments for the entire film fraternity".[49]

Other individuals who expressed their disapproval of the film's ban include Sushilkumar Shinde,[49] Aamir Khan,[54] Anubhav Sinha,[50] Manoj Bajpayee,[50] Siddharth,[50] R. Madhavan,[55] Dhanush,[48] A. R. Murugadoss, Linguswamy, Ameer Sultan, Muktha Srinivasan, Salman Rushdie, Deepa Mehta, Salman Khan,[56] Abhishek Bachchan, Chitrangda Singh,[57] Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar,[58] Akshay Kumar, Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Anupam Kher,[59] Karan Johar, A. Samad Said, Madhur Bhandarkar, Shabana Azmi, Shyam Benegal and Ketan Mehta.

Political conflicts

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi alleged that the Jayalalitha-government's ban on the film could be the result of a wrath over Kamal Haasan who had recently expressed his opinion "on wanting to see a dhoti-clad Tamilian" for prime minister at a function in Chennai. The comment was made at a function attended by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Karunanidhi.[60][61] M. Karunanidhi accused the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha for being involved in a conflict-of-interest; Jaya TV, a television network closely associated with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had previously placed a bid on the satellite distribution rights for Vishwaroopam, which Haasan declined citing a low offer.[60][61]

Jayalalitha justified the ban to maintain law and order based on intelligence reports and said that there was no political motive behind the move.[62] She also offered support from government to facilitate talks to see the release of the film[63] and said she will sue Karunanidhi and media for maligning her on the issue.[64]

Other issues

Tamil Nadu Brahmin Association (TAMBRAS) filed a complaint with City police commissioner that film contained scenes that offended the community and requested to remove the same.[65] A petition asking for a nationwide ban on screening the film citing some of scenes offending the Christian community was dismissed by the Madras High Court.[66] Director Ameer stated that Vishwaroopam portrayed Talibans as "cruel and inhumane", while according to him they were actually "helpless citizens fighting for the right of their own country", an issue which was not debated about. He compared the Talibans to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, saying "Just like how Prabhakaran and his associates fought for their rights for Tamil Eelam, the Taliban fight for their country. And similar to how it is injustice to the Eelam if we were to portray them as raw terrorists, it is equally absurd of Vishwaroopam to have portrayed Taliban as mad destroyers".[67]

References

  1. 1 2 "Kamal's Vishwaroopam in trouble". Behindwoods. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "'Vishwaroopam' DTH release on February 2: Kamal". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Screening of Kamal's film will affect social harmony". The Hindu. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Protest groups disrupt Vishwaroopam shows in Kerala". Rediff. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Let Malaysians watch Vishwaroopam, appeals ethnic Indian party". Daily News & Analysis. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "State govt trampling Kamal Haasan's freedom of expression: Mahesh Bhatt". Hindustan Times. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Jayalalithaa justifies ban on 'Vishwaroopam'". The Hindu. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Kamal Haasan to leave India?". Behindwoods. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Delayed release of Vishwaroopam caused Rs60-crore loss: Kamal Haasan". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  10. 1 2 "'Vishwaroopam' row settled: Kamal Haasan agrees to edit 7 scenes". NDTV. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Title trouble for Kamal Haasan's 'Viswaroopam'". CNN IBN. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  12. ↑ "Title trouble?". Deccan Chronicle. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "Vishwaroopam on DTH first!". The Times of India. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Kamal to release Viswaroopam himself". The Times of India. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Vishwaroopam' to first release on DTH". The Indian Express (Chennai). IANS. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Will you pay Rs 1000 to watch Kamal's Vishwaroopam?". FirstPost. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "Competition Commission begins probe into Kamal's complaint". The Hindu. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "Breaking News: Official BAN on Vishwaroopam's release!". Behindwoods. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam to be banned in Tamil Nadu". NDTV. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Fresh trouble for Vishwaroopam". Behindwoods. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Haasan: Vishwaroopam is not against my Muslim brothers". rediff. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "Kamal Haasan moves court against 'Vishwaroopam' ban, order later today". NDTV. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Breaking news: Madras HC stays 'Vishwaroopam' release till Jan 28". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Madras HC stays release of Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' till January 28". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  25. ↑ Subramanian, Karthik (24 January 2013). "Madras High Court to take a call on Vishwaroopam release on January 28". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  26. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam': Madras HC upholds ban, Kamal Haasan to move SC". The Times of India. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  27. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam' shows stopped across Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  28. ↑ "The actual reason for the postponement of Vishwaroopam verdict is .". Behindwoods. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  29. ↑ PTI 29 Jan 2013, 10.30 pm IST (4 October 2012). "Relief for Kamal Haasan, Madras HC lifts ban on 'Vishwaroopam'". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  30. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam' screening stopped in Hyderabad". The Hindu. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  31. ↑ "No Vishwaroopam release in Karnataka too". The Hindu. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  32. ↑ Special Correspondent (26 January 2013). "Cities / Thiruvananthapuram : Vishwaroopam comes home to plaudits, brickbats in equal measure". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  33. ↑ "Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam pulled in Hyderabad till tomorrow, in Bangalore till Sunday". NDTV. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  34. ↑ Chenna/Hyderabad, 26 Jan 2013, (PTI) : (26 January 2013). "'Vishwaroopam' stopped in Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, released in Kerala". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  35. ↑ "Despite protests Vishwaroopam screened in Karnataka". Hindustan Times. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  36. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam' taken off theatres across Karnataka following police advisory". CNN IBN. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  37. ↑ "Malaysia bans Vishwaroopam". The Hindu. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  38. ↑ "Now, Malaysia bans Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam', a day after it was released". NDTV.com. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  39. ↑ Radhakrishnan, R. K. (26 January 2013). "Kamal's film hits a roadblock in Sri Lanka too". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  40. ↑ "Vishwaroopam released in U.P. amid tight security". 2 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  41. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam' row: Tamil Nadu wants me out, Kamal Haasan says". The Times of India. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  42. ↑ "No 'bad Muslims' in 'Vishwaroopam', can't paint terrorists white: Kamal Haasan". The Times of India. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  43. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam' ban: Cut nine minutes from film, suggest protester groups; talks postponed". NDTV. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  44. ↑ "Malaysian government to meet with distributor of Vishwaroopam". NDTV.com. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  45. ↑ "Business Line : News : Malaysian Govt to meet Vishwaroopam distributor". The Hindu Businessline. PTI. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  46. ↑ "Ministry lifts ban on Tamil film Vishwaroopam". The Star. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  47. ↑ "Rajnikanth backs Haasan, against banning Vishwaroopam". rediff. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  48. 1 2 "Censor backs Haasan opus". India Today. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  49. 1 2 3 "Kamal Haasan mulls exile, ban on 'Vishwaroopam' stays". The Times of India. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  50. 1 2 3 4 IANS 25 Jan 2013, 12.00 am IST (25 January 2013). "Ban on 'Vishwaroopam' unfair, says film fraternity". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  51. ↑ "Ajith speaks out for Kamal". IndiaGlitz. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  52. 1 2 "Kamal is a Meesai Vaikaadha Bharathiyaar, says Bharathirajaa". Behindwoods. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  53. ↑ "No 'Thalaivaa' shoot until the release of Vishwaroopam". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  54. ↑ "'Vishwaroopam': Aamir Khan disapproves of ban on Kamal Haasan's latest". Zee News. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  55. ↑ "R Madhavan: Vishwaroopam deserves a release". Rediff. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  56. ↑ "Bollywood protests against Vishwaroop ban". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  57. ↑ "Salman Khan asks fans to support Kamal Haasan". The Times of India. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  58. ↑ "Vishwaroopam ban: B-town celebs raise questions over censor board". The Times of India. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  59. ↑ "Anupam, Akshay support Kamal Haasan on movie ban". The Times of India. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  60. 1 2 "Support for 'dhoti-clad PM' may have caused 'Vishwaroopam' ban: Karunanidhi". NDTV. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  61. 1 2 "Karunanidhi found why govt., oppose Viswaroopam | பூனை வெளியே வந்து விட்டது: விஸ்வரூபம் விவகாரத்தில் கருணாநிதி போட்டார் புது குண்டு Dinamalar". Dinamalar. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  62. ↑ "Jayalalithaa: decks can be cleared for release of film if Kamal Haasan and Muslim leaders reach accord". The Hindu. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  63. ↑ "Jayalalithaa wants to facilitate release of Vishwaroopam". Business Standard. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  64. ↑ "Jayalalitha defends 'Vishwaroopam' ban, to sue Karunanidhi". Yahoo News. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  65. ↑ "விஸ்வரூபம் பட காட்சி பிராமணர் சங்கம் புகார்". Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  66. ↑ "High Court rejects plea to ban Vishwaroopam in its present form". Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  67. ↑ "Ameer:Talibans and LTTE are the same". IndiaGlitz. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
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