Chennai/ Mumbai:
Kamal Haasan's mega-budget thriller 'Vishwaroopam' has been at centre of controversy. The Madras High Court is likely to decide today whether the 95-crore film can release in theatres in Tamil Nadu, where the government is trying to ban the movie on the grounds that its portrayal of Muslims is offensive.
Here are all the reactions to the 'Vishwaroopam' controversy:
Kamal Hassan, actor"If there is no secular state in India, I would go overseas. I think Tamil Nadu wants me out. What would change is my passport; I would still be an Indian. I have pledged all my property for the film. I have lost my house because of delay in release."
Shah Rukh Khan, actor:"We have all gone through it. We all have faced it. I have faced similar issues in the past with his own films such as 'My Name Is Khan', 'Billu Barber' and 'Om Shanti Om'. The whole controversy is very unfortunate."
Nagarjun, actor"Unfortunately I have not seen the movie. However, I know Kamal Hassan for a long time. He is one of the best actors our country has produced. I don't think he will do something to affect communal harmony of our country."
Siddharth, actor
"Vishwaroopam screenings cancelled before starting and even stopped mid-show all over Tamil Nadu What a sad day. What a horrible week. Taliban Tamil Nadu. Heartbreaking to see the greatest Tamil actor of all time talking about leaving Tamil Nadu, about bankruptcy and about unfair persecution."
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde "We are a free society. There is freedom of expression. There is liberty for artists. We have a Constitution."
Sheetal Talwar, producer"Why are filmmakers in Mumbai not speaking up for Kamal Haasan? Just because he is from the South? Don't they realise, this can happen to any of us? ... I condemn the attack on a film that I am sure redefines popular entertainment, as Kamal's films always do."
(With agency inputs)