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"Kamal Haasan&amp;#039;s Vishwaroopam will release in Tamil Nadu after a state ban on the film was lifted. Director Kamal Haasan, who earlier said he would leave his country if he was subject to restraints on his creativity, has agreed to edit out the audio for seven scenes and withdraw a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the government&amp;#039;s ban, NDTV reports.  In a statement released today, Haasan, who also produced and stars in the film, said: &amp;quot;I am ever grateful to the Tamil Nadu and Indian people at large. Many peers in the trade also reached out personally to me to enquire. &amp;quot;Unbeknownst to me the rest of my fraternity throughout the country raised their voices in my defence. I am touched and grateful to them.  &amp;quot;The media fought for my freedoms as if it were theirs at stake - probably it is so. Nevertheless, the time they spent on my small cause and the warmth they imparted strengthened me. &amp;quot;I was angered and hurt by this injustice. I stood stoic through all the troubles but what brought me to an emotional pulp was the sight of many money orders, currency notes and bank cheques sent to me in envelopes. &amp;quot;I know I have safe homes and to keep and feed me throughout Tamil Nadu. Wherever I go or live my permanent abode will always be in your kind minds.&amp;quot;      The film, which was scheduled to release on January 25, was banned in Tamil Nadu and screenings were stopped in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh after several Muslim organisations expressed concerns that certain scenes in the film might offend religious sentiments.  Kamal Haasan has defended his movie as &amp;quot;Muslim-friendly&amp;quot; and said that he has been used as &amp;quot;a political instrument&amp;quot;. The ban prompted prominent members of the film fraternity to speak out in defence of the South Indian star.  Writing on Twitter, Abhishek Bachchan  said: &amp;quot;Offended by a film or its contents? Simple solution... Don&amp;#039;t buy the ticket to see the film. Let the audience decide for themselves.&amp;quot;  Karan Johar  wrote: &amp;quot;A zone of shame for a sham of a political scenario. Kamal Haasan needs not only our support but fraternity proactivity... Like now!!&amp;quot; Talaash director Reema Kagti  said: &amp;quot;Shutting down creative enterprise in the name of religion is the sign of an intolerant, unhealthy and backward society.&amp;quot; Salman Khan, who attended a screening of the Hindi version of the film Vishwaroop in Mumbai, has described the film as &amp;quot;of Hollywood standards&amp;quot;. Vishwaroopam will now release in Tamil Nadu on February 7. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/bollywood/news/a456220/kamal-haasan-thanks-public-after-vishwaroopam-ban-is-lifted/>