Vishwaroopam a virtual hit as online downloads soar

Even as actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan's bilingual spy thriller Vishwaroopam faced a ban after complaints from some Muslim groups, but in the virtual world the film is finding a lot of takers.Online downloads and online views for the film's Tamil and Telugu versions have soared since its release on January 25.

Even as doubts persist over the mass release of the film fans have turned to pirated versions to quench their thirst for entertainment. Website thepiratebay had already given away the film to 397 takers while another 111 were seeking it at the time of going to press. Online movie watching website teentz.com has around 12,168 views so far.

"After hearing so much controversy about the movie and not finding it in theatres here, I watched it online and surprisingly there was nothing in it that I thought it was anti Muslims. Though the print is not that clear," says Tarun Gupta, an IT professional from Bangalore. Swati Iyer, a film buff from Delhi downloaded the movie in Tamil amidst all the hoopla. "It's easily available on the Internet and there was so much buzz thanks to the controversy that I couldn't resist watching it to see what was it that was creating so much news." Meanwhile, 11 persons were arrested for making pirated DVDs of the movie.

The film is yet to release officially in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka as well as Sri Lanka and Malaysia due to its alleged portrayal of Muslims.