Vishwaroopam & Kamal Haasan: Shashi Tharoor breaks silence

New Delhi, Feb 3: Now Union Minister ShashiTharoor broke his silence over the controversy on

's movie

. Commenting on the movie, Tharoor claimed that Vishwaroopam is a reflection of a society which seems to be increasingly becoming a culture of "competitive intolerance".

Tharoor did not only expressed his view regarding hullabaloos on Vishwaroopam, but also commented on the recent controversies such as - Ashish Nandy's alleged remark on Dalit, and Salman Rushdie.

Citing row in the country over the above mentioned issues, Tharoor claimed that India is yet to reach a position where freedom of speech should include the right to offend.

"It (freedom of speech) should in my view include the right to say things that might offend some and therefore invite a counter argument and discussion and debate, but not to the point where a government or a judge determine that it is poses a danger to public order," said Tharoor.

Making his stand clear on Vishwaroopam, Tharoor was quoted as saying, "..once the film has been certified by the Censor Board it ought to be screened and if you don't know what the film says, then engage with the film makers, argue if necessary, protest if you must but do not prevent screening."

Tharoor's statement surfaced hours before the ending of the week-long suspense and drama on Vishwaroopam. The movie is finally poised for release in Tamil Nadu with some cuts after the actor and Muslim groups opposed to it reached a settlement during the state-government brokered talks here on Saturday.

OneIndia News