Talks were held in Chennai today to break the deadlock over the release of Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam'.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said yesterday she would broker peace between actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and protesting Muslim groups.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Muslim organisations, Chandra Haasan, Haasan's brother, and the state Home Secretary. The Commissioner of Police, S George, was also present.

Breaking her silence on the state government's decision to ban the movie, Jayalalithaa yesterday offered to facilitate an amicable settlement if Haasan and Muslim groups agreed to come together.

"If Muslim organisations and Kamal Haasan are ready to sit down and work out an amicable agreement, if he agrees to delete certain portions that are objectionable, then decks would be cleared for screening the movie. The Tamil Nadu government will do that to facilitate such an amicable settlement," she had said.

Film personalities have welcomed Jayalalithaa's initiatives to end the crisis arising out of the ban on the movie, made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. It was earlier scheduled for release on January 25.

Haasan has ruled out moving the Supreme Court for now, saying he would wait for the Madras High Court's judgment next week while trying to find a solution through talks.

Meanwhile, the Hindi version of 'Vishwaroopam' opened to good response in the

Northern region today, with multiplex owners claiming the controversy surrounding the movie has generated more curiosity among the audience.

Titled 'Vishwaroop', the film saw an average occupancy of about 50 to 60 per cent across theatres in north India today without any untoward incident barring some protests in Lucknow.

"The film has generated quite a lot of hype and the controversy seems to have turned out to be a positive publicity here. The occupancy rates were about 60 to 70 per cent today across DT Cinemas and we expect it to go up to 100 per cent over the weekend," DT cinemas spokesperson Anant Verma told PTI.

'Vishwaroop' has been given three to four shows per day in the 18 odd screens that DT Cinemas have in Delhi and there have been no disruptions in the screenings here, he said.

Despite facing a ban in Tamil Nadu and minor problems in the neighbouring states, the film has seen a good response both in southern and northern regions.

"The movie has done exceptionally well with occupancy of 80 per cent plus in south zone and 50 per cent in north zone respectively and we are expecting it to rise further in the coming weekend. As far as the advance booking is concerned, it is expected to rise in the coming weeks especially over the weekends," PVR Pictures President Kamal Gianchandani said in a statement.

There were some protests by a Muslim group in Lucknow, demanding that "objectionable portions be deleted" and the film be "banned from release in Uttar Pradesh".

'Vishwaroop' however released in the UP capital amid tight security. Force was deployed in strength around the theatres and malls running the film.

The film had a smooth release in Kanpur, UP, with 27 shows in four multiplexes and three single-screen theatres with a good turnout.

"We didn't have any directive related to the film from the administration to stop the release. So the film has released smoothly in theatres. We have not received any report of trouble from any theatre," Kanpur DM MP Agrawal said. 'Vishwaroop' released today alongwith Deepa Mehta's 'Midnight's Children' and Bejoy Nambiar's 'David'.