The 2013 Indian film Vishwaroopam was subjected to several controversial issues. 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) film premiere, theatre owners demanded a rollback of this plan, fearing 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 the Central Board of Film Certification of India, district collectors in the state of Tamil Nadu gave orders to the theatre owners not to show Vishwaroopam, citing law and order problems; however, the film was 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 the 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 agreed to mute five scenes.[10]