A Madras High Court judge on Saturday watched Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam ahead of passing the order on the actor-filmmaker’s plea for a stay on the two-week ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu government on its release in the state. Justice K Venkataraman saw the film at a special screening along with Tamil Nadu advocate general A Navaneethakri-shnan and representatives of Kamal Haasan and Muslim organisations.  The court will pronounce its order on Monday.

Support for the superstar poured in from the film fraternity even as Vishwaroopam was screened in Karnataka and Kerala despite sporadic protests. The Telugu version released in Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad a day after being screened in the rest of the state.

The spy thriller, however, took a hit in Malaysia, a major overseas market for Tamil films. The film was pulled out of theatres a day after its release on government orders. Sri Lanka too ordered a delay in the release in favour of a review by censors.

In Chennai, former chief minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi appealed to the Muslim community to end the Vishwaroopam deadlock through talks.

Several Muslim groups have opposed the film’s release, alleging their community has been portrayed in a negative light. Kamal Haasan has said his film is not anti-Muslim.  With agency inputs