Haasan agrees to edit 'Vishwaroopam', to release soon

After talks with Muslim groups Saturday, Kamal Haasan has agreed to cut some scenes from his controversial film "Vishwaroopam".

The film will be released as soon as Tamil Nadu government withdraws its prohibitory order.

"I've arrived at a consensus with my Muslim brothers. We've agreed to cut some scenes from the film which they found to be objectionable," Kamal Haasan, who produced the film and acted in it, told reporters here.

"I'll announce the release date of the film soon. We've also withdrawn our written petition and expect the same from the government," he added.

Kamal Haasan joined the formal tripartite talks on Saturday with Muslim groups to end the ban on his mega-budget multilingual film "Vishwaroopam".

The talks, which were scheduled Friday, were called off because Muslim organisations wanted Kamal Haasan to be present.

Muslim leaders had met Tamil filmmaker Ameer Sultan and Chandra Haasan, Kamal Haasan's brother and his partner in production company Raj Kamal Films International Jan 31.

"We've submitted letters to the government requesting it to oversee talks between Raj Kamal Films International and (Muslim) leaders," Chandra Haasan said Thursday.

The preliminary talks between both parties Friday were moderated by Tamil Nadu Home Secretary R. Rajagopal.

Both sides agreed to meet after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said her government would help Kamal Haasan release the film if he reaches a pact with the protestors.

The Rs.95 crore espionage thriller was set for release in Tamil and Telugu Jan 25, but a day earlier the Tamil Nadu government imposed a two-week ban on it fearing protests by Muslim groups.

The film's Hindi version released Feb 1 across the country.