Vishwaroopam (2013)

Original title

விஸ்வரூபம்

Directed by

Kamal Haasan

Genre

spy film

Country

India

Runtime

2h 28m

Rated

UA

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 104 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A nuclear scientist marries a man she believes is an effeminate classical dancer. When she becomes suspicious of his behavior and hires a detective, she gets caught up with a terrorist cell and learns his true identity.

tenseaction-packedseriousfast-paceddramaticsuspensefulintense

What happens

Vishwaroopam (titled Vishwaroop in Hindi; transl. The Universal Form) is a 2013 Indian action spy film co-written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also stars in the lead role. The film also stars Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Nassar and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. The film was shot simultaneously in both Tamil and Hindi. The script was written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari and is set in New York City, where Nirupama, an ambitious nuclear scientist, marries an effeminate coward classical dancer, Viswanathan. On being suspicious of his behaviour, she hires a detective and in turn gets entangled with a terrorist cell, revealing his true identity and past. The film features soundtrack composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, with the Tamil lyrics written 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 Manmadan 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 Kamal Haasan from Selvaraghavan and reports indicating comparison with several English films surfaced during the production. The first teaser was revealed in April 2012 and the first theatrical trailer was revealed in June 2012. Vishwaroopam is the first Indian film to utilise 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 was released worldwide, excluding Tamil Nadu, on 25 January 2013 and was released in Tamil Nadu on 7 February 2013. The Hindi version was released on 1 February 2013. Legal controversies, regarding the film's plot of India's foreign intelligence service Research and Analysis Wing's participation in America's war on terror after the 9/11 attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda, arose as several Muslim civic organisations 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. Heeding the requests of Muslim civic organisations, controversial scenes were muted or morphed, allowing the film to be released on 7 February 2013 in Tamil Nadu. Despite the fragmented and delayed releases, Vishwaroopam garnered positive reviews and grossed ₹220 crore(US$38 million) worldwide. The film was honoured with awards for Best Art Direction and Best Choreography at the 60th National Film Awards. A circumquel to the film, Vishwaroopam II, was released on 10 August 2018. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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