Vishwaroopam (titled Vishwaroop in Hindi) is a 2013 Indian spy thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role. The film has Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. Produced simultaneously as a bilingual in Tamil and Hindi and dubbed into Telugu language as Viswaroopam, the film features a soundtrack composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics produced by Vairamuthu and Haasan himself, while Javed Akhtar translated them for the Hindi version.
Development of the project began after the release of Haasan's Manmadhan Ambu (2010) when several of the crew were brought in from the United States to lend their technical expertise. The direction was taken over by Haasan from Selvaraghavan and reports indicating a comparison with several English films surfaced during the production. The first teaser was revealed in April 2012 and first theatrical trailer was revealed in June 2012 – the Tamil version attracted 682,000 views, Telugu version 20,000 views on YouTube. Vishwaroopam is the first Indian film to utilize the new Auro 3D sound technology. The film was also to be the first Indian film to release via direct-broadcast satellite, also known as direct-to-home (DTH), but after protests of theatre owners this plan was dropped.
The film released worldwide, excluding Tamil Nadu, on 25 January 2013 while the Hindi version was released on 1 February 2013. Legal controversies, regarding the film's plot of Indian security services' participation in the War on Terror, arose as several Muslim civic organizations protested the film's release in Tamil Nadu, resulting in an official ban being imposed on the film in the state for 15 days by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The ban resulted in similar decisions in major overseas markets like Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore while release was delayed in the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.
Despite the fragmented release, Vishwaroopam garnered positive reviews and emerged the second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time at the time of its release. Heeding to the requests of Muslim civic organisations, controversial scenes were muted or morphed, allowing the film for release on 7 February 2013 in Tamil Nadu. The film was honored with awards for Best Art Direction and Best Choreography at the 60th National Film Awards. A sequel to the film, Vishwaroopam II, is set for release in early 2016.
Development of the project began after the release of Haasan's Manmadhan Ambu (2010) when several of the crew were brought in from the United States to lend their technical expertise. The direction was taken over by Haasan from Selvaraghavan and reports indicating a comparison with several English films surfaced during the production. The first teaser was revealed in April 2012 and first theatrical trailer was revealed in June 2012 – the Tamil version attracted 682,000 views, Telugu version 20,000 views on YouTube. Vishwaroopam is the first Indian film to utilize the new Auro 3D sound technology. The film was also to be the first Indian film to release via direct-broadcast satellite, also known as direct-to-home (DTH), but after protests of theatre owners this plan was dropped.
The film released worldwide, excluding Tamil Nadu, on 25 January 2013 while the Hindi version was released on 1 February 2013. Legal controversies, regarding the film's plot of Indian security services' participation in the War on Terror, arose as several Muslim civic organizations protested the film's release in Tamil Nadu, resulting in an official ban being imposed on the film in the state for 15 days by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The ban resulted in similar decisions in major overseas markets like Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore while release was delayed in the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.
Despite the fragmented release, Vishwaroopam garnered positive reviews and emerged the second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time at the time of its release. Heeding to the requests of Muslim civic organisations, controversial scenes were muted or morphed, allowing the film for release on 7 February 2013 in Tamil Nadu. The film was honored with awards for Best Art Direction and Best Choreography at the 60th National Film Awards. A sequel to the film, Vishwaroopam II, is set for release in early 2016.
