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Revisiting Vishwaroopam: A look-back at Kamal's international spy thriller; 60+ lesser-known facts

Team CE

Updated:12th Jan, 2021 at 3:27 PM

After finishing his Manmadan Ambu (2010), Kamal Haasan stated that he was working on the scripting of his 'pet project' titled Thalaivan Irukkiran, a film about an international communalism.

Termed as a big budget multi-starrer film, it was expected to commence by March 2011, with a Hollywood studio reportedly coming forward to produce it.

However, in early 2011, sources claimed that Kamal had shelved that project and agreed to star in a Selvaraghavan directorial.

Reports further suggested that the film was based on the 2001 American psychological thriller Hannibal, with Kamal playing a cannibal.

Closer to release, Kamal Haasan revealed that he had thought of the story seven years before production began and had to convince himself that the story could be made into a feature film.

The entire shoot was initially scheduled to be completed within 100 days.

In May 2011. it was announced that Selvaraghavan was ousted from the project, as he was busy finishing his project with his brother Dhanush.

Kamal Hassan then decided to direct the film himself in addition to writing the story, screenplay and dialogues.

The producing studio, Telephoto Films, had urged him to take up the project, planning for a release in November 2011.

The film was then disclosed to be a spy thriller on the lines of the Mission Impossible series.

People often think that Vishwaroop is a dubbed version of Vishwaroopam, but it's not the truth. Vishwaroop has been made straight in Hindi instead of being dubbed.

The film was being made as a bilingual and simultaneously shot in Tamil and Hindi languages; all the actors had to learn their dialogues in both languages.

Sanu Varghese made his debut as a cinematographer in Tamil after previously working in the Hindi film, Karthik Calling Karthik and the Malayalam film Elektra.

Varghese had previously been a part of the team that Kamal Haasan had assembled for Marmayogi, which did not take off.

Mahesh Narayanan, a leading Malayalam editor, was signed up for the project after he got acquainted with Kamal during the pre-production works of the film Traffic, which the actor later opted out from

The team signed up NG Roshan as a make-up artiste after Kamal Haasan appreciated his work in the 2009 Malayalam film Pazhassi Raja.

Mahadevan Thampi was picked to be the still photographer after Kamal Haasan had worked with him for a day during his guest appearance in Four Friends.

By February 2011, newcomer Sonakshi Sinha was approached to play the lead female character,[13] and was confirmed to play Haasan's wife.

Sonakshi's salary for the film was touted to be 2 crores at that time (US$280,000).

However, with the film getting delayed, Sonakshi opted out by July 2011, due to conflicting dates with her Hindi assignments.

Following Sinha's exit, other leading Bollywood actresses, including Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone,[23] and Sonam Kapoor were considered.

Vidya Balan was also approached by the makers, but she declined the offer, owing to her prior commitments.

By mid-August, Sameera Reddy was reported to have been roped in for the role, while sources stated that Anushka Shetty was finalised soon after.

Finally, New York based model-actress Pooja Kumar was signed in for a role after she had been recommended to Kamal Haasan by his partner, Gouthami.

The initial audition for Pooja Kumar was held over Skype, with Haasan noting that she had thought the film was initially based on cannibalism.

Being a non-Tamil speaker her dialogues have been dubbed by actress Abhirami, although Pooja Kumar dubbed for herself in the film's Hindi version.

Telugu actress Lakshmi Manchu was offered a role in the film, but declined it due to date issues.

Shriya Saran was reported to play the second female lead in the film, with the actress dismissing the news several days later, citing that she had not even heard the script.

Isha Sharvani was meanwhile selected for a role, with reports suggesting that she would essay the character of Kamal's sister. However, Sharvani too opted out later, due to 'inordinate delays.'

Andrea Jeremiah was signed up to play the second heroine, after Amy Jackson was briefly considered for the role.

Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh was offered a 'special role', which she had to decline, since her dates clashed with her Hindi projects.

As Kamal Hassan is ardent reader of Richard Dawkins, he had named Miles Anderson as Dawkins in the movie.

The film's shooting was supposed to begin on 20 Apri 2011, but got delayed, since the US Consulate had refused visas to the cast and crew.

The team then decided to relocate to Canada, postponing the filming to June.

Sets resembling Afghanistan were created in the grounds of a private college in Chennai, with many foreigners from Russia, Iran and Africa playing American soldiers.

Kamal's character Wisam Ahmen Kashmiri is first shown as a Kathak teacher named Vishwanath. This is similar to a part of Mahabharata, where Arjuna disguises as a dance teacher for princess Uttara.

The dance sequence for this scene (and for the dance scene in the sequel) was choreographed by Pandit Birju Maharaj, a popular Kathak artiste.

The main outdoor shoots were done in New York as the lead character is based there, and the production team also matched New York with the Grand Rapids in Michigan.

The climax scenes featuring an aerial fight choreographed by Hollywood stuntman Lee Whittaker was filmed at Chandivali Studio in Andheri, Mumbai with Kamal and Rahul Bose.

The film was shot in digital format, after several false starts Haasan's previous projects.

Speaking about it, Kamal said 'The fact that cinema is going digital is the biggest technological change today. We have to accept it, as it is happening globally and it will happen in Tamil Nadu too'.

Gouthami had designed the costumes for the film.

Extensive research had to be carried out on the American army's hierarchy for the costumes.

Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment has taken care of the graphics part in Vishwaroopam.

Rahul Bose had to undergo a heavy use of prosthetic make-up. A scene involving a war explosion had to show an injured jaw for him.

The Jaika stunt team, that was also involved in Billa II (2012) at the time, worked on the action sequences.

Kamal's younger daughter Akshara Haasan joined the crew as an assistant director few months into the shoot.

Kunal Rajan was roped in as a sound designer and the stunt crew for the film were imported in from Thailand

Vishwaroopam was the first film in India to use Auro 3D sound technology. This was created by a Belgium company called Auro Technologies.

Auro 3D sound technology consists of three layers of sound including a height layer above the audience.

The film's Tamil version was given a 'U/A' (Parental Guidance) certificate by the Indian Censor Board with minor cuts.

The Hindi version Vishwaroop, which was originally given an 'A' certificate, went through minor cuts to receive the 'U/A' certificate.

The makers planned the high-budget production to premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

The film released with over 3,000 prints worldwide.

Kamal considered releasing the film as a direct-to-home premiere, but theatre owners protested this fearing loss of revenue.

While the movie was scheduled to release in theatres on 25 January 2013, the DTH release was planned for 2 February 2013 via six DTH players – Tata Sky, Airtel, Sun, Dish, Videocon and Reliance.

Vishwaroopam was scheduled to release in about 500 screens in Tamil Nadu, but the film was removed from screens by district collectors, due to sustained protests by Muslim civic organisations.

In Andhra Pradesh, the film was scheduled to release in 300 screens by Siri Media. The film released in 82 screens in Kerala on 25 January.

After initial delays, Karnataka saw a full release on 29 January 2013 in 40 screens across the state.

The Hindi version Vishwaroop was released in over 1,035 screens on 1 February 2013, thereby marking the biggest ever release for a Kamal Haasan film in Bollywood.

The film was scheduled to release in 250 screens in the overseas markets - one of the highest ever - including 40 screens in Sri Lanka, 20 screens in Singapore, and 20 screens in Canada.

Both the Tamil and Telugu versions of Vishwaroopam were screened at the Fourth Annual India International Film Festival of Tampa Bay in 2013.

Both the Tamil and Telugu versions of Vishwaroopam were screened at the Fourth Annual India International Film Festival of Tampa Bay in 2013.

Vishwaroopam won the Best Art Direction and Best Choreography at the 60th National Film Awards.

Initially, there was a controversy in the title naming issue, where the Hindu Makkal Katchi demanded the change from its current Sanskrit title to a purely Tamil one.

After all the controversies surrounding his movie, Kamal Haasan said that he would be forced to leave the country because he was 'fed up at being played around in a dirty political game.'

Kamal further estimated the notional loss of revenue, due to banning policies, at almost ₹ 600 million.

Leela Samson, the then chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, condemned the allegations of the film being anti-Islamic stating 'It is clearly cultural terrorism.'

The film was a blockbuster despite the release issues. Made at a budget of 95 crores, it made 220 crores worldwide.

At the time of its release, Vishwaroopam was the second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time (as of now, it still ranks within the top 10).

The film completed a 100-day run in Tamil Nadu and 100 days in Bangalore city.

Despite the controversy, the Hindi version of the film did exceptionally well at the box office with 45% opening.

Initially, Yuvan Shankar Raja was reported to compose the film's music. However, Kamal signed in the musical trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, after being impressed with their work in Aalavandan.

Javed Akhtar has penned lyrics for the Hindi version, while Ramajogayya Shastry has done the lyrics for the dubbed Telugu version.

A special screening of the film was arranged for Hollywood-based producer Barrie M. Osborne and make-up artist Michael Westmore.

Kamal had mentioned that the sequel Vishwaroopam 2 was already planned and more sequences had already been shot featuring Andrea Jeremiah in a more prominent role.

Vishwaroopam II finally released on 10 August 2018, after several financial issues and release troubles.

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