Shubha Shetty Saha (MID-DAY; March 26, 2015)

In an interesting development at the FICCI Frames 2015 at a Powai fivestar, Aamir Khan apologised to veteran actor Kamal Haasan, who was seated in the front row, for not supporting him during the ban on his 2013 film, Vishwaroopam.

Speaking at the interactive session post the inauguration at the Renaissance Hotel, Aamir said, “I take this opportunity to apologise to you, Mr Kamal Haasan, for not standing by you when your film was banned in 2013. I was so lost in work and I didn’t realise it at that time. But I think we all filmmakers should stand by each other in such cases and I should have supported you during those trying times.” Haasan smiled and acknowledged the apology.

Vishwaroopam was mired in controversy for its portrayal of Muslims and the worst blow came when certain Islamic groups in Tamil Nadu asked for a ban on the film, even though it had been cleared by the Censor Board. The then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa had supported the ban and consequently, the film could not be screened in that state as well as in certain other regions and a few foreign markets. This was said to have caused huge losses to him.