Even as his latest film, "Vishwaroopam" is still going strong at the box office, superstar Kamal Haasan is set to launch his next production - "Vishwaroopam-2" - a sequel to his controversial film.
Kamal Haasan told reporters at an event on Saturday that "Vishwaroopam 2" would be launched in a few days time and hit the screens this year. He had earlier said that he would keep away from controversial topics for the sequel.
Meanwhile, the makers of "Vishwaroopam" have not revealed the exact box office collection of the film, leading to unending speculation to its business.
Rahul Bose, who plays one of the lead roles in the film, had earlier tweeted that the film has earned ₹120 from Tamil Nadu alone, only to be denied later by Kamal Hassan, saying that it hadn't touched ₹100-crore-mark.
However, Kamal Hassan has now hinted that the ₹95-crore budget film is nearing ₹100-crore-mark.
"Now, that the Tamil version of Vishwaroopam has been released in Tamil Nadu, I am happy that I will not be questioned by my brother and co-producer Chandra Haasan," IndiaTV quoted the actor as saying.
"Vishwaroopam" was dogged by controversies ever since actor Kamal Haasan announced the release date.
All the three versions (Tamil, Telugu and Hindi) of the film were originally scheduled for release worldwide on Jan 25 but it was released only abroad due to legal issues following protests by Muslim groups alleging that a few scenes were of bad taste.
The Hindi version, "Vishwaroop" was released in about 800 theatres on Feb 1 but the Tamil version was further delayed after the Jayalalithaa government imposed banned on its screening citing Section 144 of CrPC despite clearance by the censor board.
The makers of the film finally announced the release date of the film in Tamil Nadu after the state government lifted the ban following an "amicable settlement" with the Muslim groups.
"Vishwaroop" (Hindi version) has so far collected ₹12.75 crore from domestic box office after the second weekend and ₹8.74 crore from overseas.
Tamil version, "Vishwaroopam" earned ₹5 crore on the opening day from the state alone but its collection thereafter is still not known.
Kamal Haasan not only wrote and directed "Vishwaroopam" but also co-produced it with Chandra Haasan and Prasad Vara Potluri. It features Kamal, Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Jaideep Ahlawat in the lead roles.
