Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam has been in the news ever since it was launched. Everything is huge about the film made in Tamil and Hindi (as Vishwaroop) and dubbed into Telugu.
It is a magnum opus made on a Rs 100 plus crore budget, on global terrorism, with Kamal Hassan himself in the lead.
Two pretty young heroines, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah, biggies Shekhar Kapur and Rahul Bose, international artistes and different locations are other plus points.
For the first time a film will be telecast over DTH the night (January 10) before its theatre release (January 11).
This has become quite controversial but Kamal Hassan, who has done several innovative things in his career, has simply dared to do something different.
Six networks--Airtel, Sun Direct, Videocon, Tata Sky, Dish TV and Big TV-- will
telecast the film.
Kamal Haasan emphatically stated at a press conference, "I will never destroy my eco system. The temple of cinema will be the grand theatre. They will be intact. It's like if you have God Venkateswara's picture at home that doesn't mean you stop going to Tirupati."
Showing it on DTH, he said, is "part of the evolution of technology. It's an additional choice, not an alternative to theatres. It's a revolution. Six different families have come together and shown their strength to be united."
The superstar said many people can't go to a theatre: "My friend Crazy Mohan's father has not been to a theatre for 25 years. He thanked me for showing this on DTH.
"He said, now I don't have to wait for a DVD and I can see this before my son does in the theatre! This facility will help so many see it within the comfort of their homes even the physically challenged and others who can't go to theatres."