19 Feb – Fans who were disappointed and/or enraged by Malaysia's Home Ministry's ban on "Vishwaroopam" can finally rejoice as it is revealed that the ban has just been lifted. According to reports, the ban on the action thriller is officially over, effective today, 19 February 2013. However, there is still no word from Lotus Five Star (LFS) representatives on when the film will be screened. Initially, the Film Censorship Board had approved the movie for public screening in Malaysia on 24 January 2013, only to pull it out later when the Home Ministry issued a directive following concerns that the film portrayed Muslims in a negative light.
That did not stop fans from watching the film online, and the Kamal Haasan-starrer which he also produced, wrote and directed, netted Rs 100 crore after its second weekend in Tamil Nadu and Rs 105 crore worldwide. The spy thriller also became the second highest grosser film in Tamil cinema, beating Rajinikanth's 2007 movie "Shivaji" and Vijay's 2012 film "Thuppakki". Currently it seems that the movie will only make it to our cinemas next week, as most cinemas have already set their screening schedules for the week and are yet to liaise with the local distributor for the rescreening details.