Even as the Madras High Court ruled in favour of Kamal Haasan starrer 'Dasavatharam' holding that freedom of expression cannot be curtailed by 'mere belief, myth and fiction', it expressed the hope that the film 'shall not carry anything that wounds' any section of the Hindus.
'Movies are powerful means of communication which affect a larger audience. It cannot allow itself to propagate hatred among people of all walks of life including the religion oriented people... certain amount of restraint from them (those behind the silver screen) is the need of the hour and they should ensure that their freedom of expression does not affect sentiments of any religion,' a division bench comprising Justice K Venkatraman and Justice M Satyanarayanan, said.
'So, we hope that the film (Dasavatharam) shall not carry any thing which wounds any sect of the Hindus,' it said.
It hoped that the petitioners would not be offended after watching the entire movie.
The Bench dismissed a petition seeking a direction to film certification authorities to change the title of the movie and delete some scenes, paving the way for the movie's release.
The International Sri Vaishnava Dharma Samrakshanna Society (SVDSS), had, based on TV clippings, filed a petition contending that some of the scenes could spark off tension between the Vaishnavites and the Saivites.
The High Court ruled in favour of the producer--Oscar Movies--taking into account a number of factors such as the filing of the case based on TV clippings only and counter affidavits that the film glorified God as a divine power and depicted only imaginary characters and incidents.
It also noted that the viewers of the movie were not 'illiterate' to not understand that the title meant ten roles played by Kamal Haasan and had nothing to do with the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu, as claimed by the petitioner.
The court held that the name 'Dasavatharam' was an ancient historical and religious one and nobody could object to its usage since there was no intellectual property rights attached to it.
Kamal Haasan's last few films--'Virumandi', 'Vasool Raja' and 'Mumbai Express' --have had their fair share of controversies with some people objecting to the titles.