There were speculations that the 11-day ban on "Vishwaroopam" in Tamil Nadu would cost actor-producer Kamal Haasan between ₹30 and ₹50 crore but the box office collections have proven otherwise. It has solved the filmmaker's debt worries by crossing ₹100 crore mark from domestic box office alone.
Kamal Haasan's latest film, "Vishwaroopam", which was dogged by controversies, was released in 600 theatres across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, raking in more than ₹5 crore on the opening day.
The 58-year-old actor told a television channel that he was once worried of getting into debt but that fear is gone after the superb collections at the box office. He however said that he will never be able to repay the debt to his fans for their love all these years.
Rahul Bose, who plays one of the lead roles in the film, had earlier said that "Vishwaroopam" had crossed ₹100 crore mark.
"Just received figures of the all India box office collections of Vishwaroopam. 120 crores and counting. Superb!" tweeted Rahul Bose. "Vishwaroopam's the first film I've been a part of that's made over 100 crores. Congratulatuions to the team and mr haasan especially!"
But going by the collections of its Hindi version in the last one week, it is difficult to believe that the ₹95 crore budget film has earned ₹120 crore in just four days.
"Vishwaroopam" raked in ₹8.74 crore from overseas box office after the third weekend and the seven days collection of the Hindi version, "Vishwaroop" is ₹11.50 crore, according to trade analyst and film critic Taran Adarsh.
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 portrayed the community in bad light.
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.
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.
