The movement wants the government to screen the Tamil movie and urges the home ministry not to flip-flop.
GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakti has called on the federal government to lift the suspension and allow the screening of Indian movie icon Kamal Haasan’s Tamil thriller Viswaroopam.
Hindraf chairman P Waytha Moorthy said the removal of the potential silver screen blockbuster from local cinemas was a blow to the freedom of artistic expression.
He said the suspension was uncalled for given that Viswaroopam’s theme on international terrorism was not different from many other Hollywood and Indian movies with similar themes, which were not banned.
“Why pick on this movie when so many Hollywood movies with similar themes were allowed screening?” he asked.
He said Kamal Haasan’s movie was based on today’s international reality and it contained nothing sensitive against any religion or community.
“It was simply an artistic expression via motion picture on international terrorism, the world’s major problem today, not against any religion, culture or community.
“Many governments are now setting aside special annual budgets to combat terrorism.
“Kamal Haasan was merely trying to illustrate the danger of international terrorism via cine professionalism,” stressed Waytha Moorthy.
He said Kamal Haasan’s movies were intelligent and mind boggling provoking right thinking, constructive discussions as well as promoted peace and harmony.
He, as other Tamil movie fans, were shocked with the Home Ministry’s sudden suspension of Viswaroopam until further notice after its first day grand worldwide opening on Thursday.
Film Censorship Board’s Control and Enforcement Division secretary Razak Derahman said the movie was suspended on the orders of Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
According to Razak, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Youth Movement on Wednesday submitted a memorandum opposing the screening of the movie.
“The group cited religious sensitivities so the film will be sent back to Film Censorship Board,” he said.
The Penang Muslims League had also urged the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) to either suspend or review the movie, claiming that it portrays Muslims in a bad light.
Why such a hasty move?
Waytha Moorthy questioned how the ministry could act so hastily based on a memorandum from a group while depriving the rights of thousands of movie fans to view Viswaroopam.
“The movie was reviewed and cleared by the censor board. How can it be suspended now just because some group describes it as sensitive? The ministry has really flip-flopped again,” he said.
Like Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore had also suspended the movie indefinitely on grounds of it being “insensitive to Muslims.”
On Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government, headed by Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, a former top actress, banned Vishwaroopam from screening in the state for 15 days when 25 Muslim organisations objected the movie.
A day later, the Chennai High Court restricted the film’s release till Jan 28. A judge would view the movie today and decide on its fate.
The movie portrays the versatile Kamal Haasan in a single role of various personalities – a Barathanaattiyam dance master, an Indian anti-terrorist agent and an undercover agent masking himself as an international terrorist to uncover the operations of terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, Indian media reported Tamil movie superstar Rajnikanth calling for the suspension to be lifted.
“I request my Muslim brothers to sit with Kamal Haasan, discuss and release the film without hampering the storyline. He is no ordinary artiste but an extraordinary one who can take Tamil cinema to new levels,” he had said.
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