Kamal Haasan agrees to modify Vishwaroopam

Kamal Haasan agrees to modify Vishwaroopam but high court bans it again

Even as Madras high court stayed release of Vishwaroopam, actor director Kamal Haasan on Monday said that the controversy related to the film is now resolved with him agreeing to cut out certain portions of the film.

The film will not be released in Tamil Nadu till February 6.

Talking to the press in Chennai, Haasan said, his 'Muslim family' reached out to him with a list of objectionable scene which he has agreed to delete.

Haasan requested the Tamil Nadu govrnment to maintain law and order in the state after there were reports of protests and violence outside theatres in Tamil Nadu.

Petrol bombs were reportedly hurled at two theatres in Ramanathapuram district which were to screen Vishwaroopam.

Earlier in the day, upset over the hurdles caused by the ban on the release of mega budget Vishwaroopam, an emotional Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said Tamil Nadu does not want him to stay in the state and he might seek a "secular" place in the country or overseas. "When M F Hussain can do it, Kamal Haasan will do it... I am fed up. I am an artiste.

After that, I will have to seek a secular state for my stay... Secular state from Kashmir to Kerala, excluding Tamil Nadu... Tamil Nadu wants me out," he said in a choked voice as the fate of the movie is still to be decided in the court.

The actor said he had pledged all his property to make the trilingual movie, estimated to have cost around Rs. 100 crore. He said he might lose his house because of the losses incurred by the delay in the release of the movie.

Kamal Haasan said, "...But I believe that along with my Muslim friends, I have been instrument in a political game. I don't know who is playing and not even hazarding the guess. The fact remains that my history has proven that I have been neither leaning to the left or right but trying to maintain my position," Haasan said.

He said he would wait for the judgement of the Madras high court where the Tamil Nadu government today moved swiftly to file an appeal against the interim relief given by the single judge.

The Rs. 95 crore espionage thriller was originally scheduled to release in Tamil and Telugu on January 25. However, a day before the screenings, the Tamil Nadu government imposed a two-week ban on the film after some Muslim groups complained that some scenes in it portrayed the community in bad light.