Vishwaroopam ban part of a political game: Kamal Haasan

Filmaker and actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday held an emotive press conference in Chennai during which he alleged the ban on his movie Vishwaroopam was part of a political game and he would be forced to leave the country if the harrassment continues.
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.

Haasan, 58, described the ban as "cultural terrorism" and added: "Any neutral and patriotic Muslim will surely feel pride on seeing my film. It was designed for that purpose."

"Vishwaroopam" was banned from being screened in Kerala, parts of Hyderabad, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on January 25, soon after the first show.

The film resumed playing in as many as 40 theatres amidst police security in Karnataka Tuesday morning. It was released with the tagline included in the credits, "All Muslims are not terrorists and the characters depicted in this film are imaginary".

Distributors and theatre owners who had to take off the film fear losses of up to Rs. 30 crore and above.