The Tamil Nadu government defended its decision to ban Kamal Haasan’s movie ‘Vishwaroopam’ in court today.

The government of Tamil Nadu described the censor board's clearance of the film as a ‘scam’. The Attorney General for the state said the censor board's sanction was given "without application of the mind."

The Tamil Nadu High Court is expected to decide whether the ban of the movie, placed by the State Government last week, will be revoked.

In court today, Kamal Haasan’s lawyer claimed that the ban seems to be part of "a concerted effort to gag" the actor. He also said the ban is unconstitutional because the movie has been cleared by the country's censor board.

But Tamil Nadu government stood its ground and said that ban was due to the protests held by various Muslim groups throughout the country, who claim that the portrayal of Muslims in the movie is offensive.

Few days ago Kamal Haasan defended his movie and said, “Any neutral and patriotic Muslim will surely feel pride on seeing my film. It was designed for that purpose." He further described the ban as "cultural terrorism".

The judge hearing the case reviewed the film over the weekend.

Yesterday, the court had directed Kamal Haasan to compromise with the government. But Kamal Haasan refused to edit his movie by one hour.

Throughout the country protests have been held outside cinema theaters screening ‘Vishwaroopam’. In cities like Hyderabad, the film's screening in theatres has been punctuated with protests outside. In many cinemas, the screening of the film was aborted mid-way.