By Subhash K Jha

Vishwaroopam, the Tamil version of Vishwaroop finally opened on Thursday in 500 theatres across Tamil Nadu to full houses, as expected.

Overwhelmed by the response Kamal Haasan said, `There was not a murmur of unrest let alone protest, anywhere in Tamil Nadu. Fans from both the communities, Hindu and Muslim, had assured me there would be absolute peace. Sure enough, the film opened today without any incident. I feel vindicated. `

Significantly pirated copies of Vishwaroopam are out in Chennai. But no one's buying that.

Says Kamal, `My audiences knows how important the success of Vishwaroopam is for my future. They have decided to boycott the pirates because they know my survival depends entirely on the success of this film. So no pirated copies of the film are being bought.

For my fans Vishwaroopam is much more than a film. It's a mission. Likewise my colleagues from the Tamil film industry have pledged to see the film twice, once for the pleasure of it and then once because they want to ensure it's a blockbuster. `

Kamal Haasan had a very successful screening of the film for his colleagues on Wednesday evening where some of the august gathering compared Kamal Haasan's crossover from a Kathak dancer to a fighter-hero, to Superman's makeover from Clark Kent to the flying super-hero.

The irrepressible actor chuckles, `But it's not really Superman in Vishwaroopam I had very practical problem with making my character doing a Superman. Where in today's era of cellphones would Superman change his costume? There are no phone booths any more for Superman to change into Clark Kent, and vice versa. `

On a more serious note, Kamal Haasan says, `I've gone back much further than Superman for inspiration for my duel character of the effeminate dancer turned hero in Vishwaroopam. The character comes from the Tamil version of the Mahabharat. `