Kamal Haasan said he would be forced to quit India like legendary artist MF Hussain as he did not find a secular state in the country. He said he had invested all his resources into the mega budget movie, virtually leaving nothing for himself.
The film finally hit screens on February 7 with some cuts. Abraham, who starred and produced 'Madras Cafe', got embroiled in a controversy following protests from students and political parties in Tamil Nadu over alleged portrayal of banned LTTE in the movie.
The actor arranged for a special show to the protesters, much like Haasan did for Muslim representatives, but that failed to solve the matter.
The 'Jism' star, whose 'Madras Cafe' was also dubbed in Tamil before the Censor Board cleared it, however, did not relent to pressure even as a body of exhibitors ruled not to screen the movie in the state.
Another top Tamil actor Vijay, had to face difficulty in releasing his 'Thalaivaa' (The Leader) following a threatening letter received at a theatre here amid whispers that the film carried political overtones and therefore such a title.
However, the film managed to cross all hurdles and finally hit the screens before Vijay issued a statement praising Jayalalithaa and her government's welfare measures.
The year also saw South Indian cinema joining hands under Jayalalithaa to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema, with President Pranab Mukherjee doing the honours at the inaugural event which also saw the top stars of the film industry travel to the southern city to participate in the gala event.
The super-rich Tamil film industry suffered some major blows with the passing away of stalwarts such as singer PB Srinivas and musician KV Ramamurthy of the famous MS Viswanathan-Ramamurthy duo, among others. The mellifluous voice of Srinivas (82) that entertained generations of south Indian film buffs, fell silent with his death on Tamil New Year's Day on April 14.
The death of other top names-musician Dakhshinamurthy, lyricist Vaali and actor-director Manivannan, known for his hit political satires like 'Amaithipadai' also left Tamil cinema grieving.
PTI
