Actress Sonam Kapoor (L) and Dhanush star in Raanjhanaa
Pakistan has banned an Indian film about the love affair of a Muslim-Hindu couple on the grounds that it could offend viewers in the conservative Islamic
republic, officials said Friday.
Raanjhanaa was scheduled for release in June, but Pakistan's Film Censor Board refused to clear it for cinema showings.
"The censor board did not clear this movie because of its controversial story," Arshad Ali, a senior government official and chairman of the board, told AFP.
"The board recommended that the movie's storyline could offend the majority Muslim population in the country and a law and order situation could arise in response," he said.
According to press reports the film is the love story of a Hindu man and a Muslim woman.
While a huge array of Western and Bollywood films can be bought over the counter on pirated DVD in Pakistan, the censor board routinely bans productions deemed too sensitive for cinemas.
Pakistani movie distributors boycotted Hollywood film Zero Dark Thirty about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US troops in Pakistan on May 2, 2011 to the country's humiliating.
In 2012, Pakistan banned Agent Vinod, India's answer to James Bond in which an Indian secret agent thwarts Pakistani spies from detonating a nuclear bomb in Delhi.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947.
In 2010, censors also refused permission for Indian film Tere bin Laden, which poked fun at bin Laden. The board claimed it would incite suicide attacks.
Pakistan's own film industry declined in recent years, finding itself unable to compete with the huge popularity of Bollywood productions.
Source: AFP
GMT 10:23 2018 Wednesday ,28 November
'SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57GMT 11:56 2018 Monday ,26 November
Oscar-winning Italian film-maker Bernardo Bertolucci dead at 77GMT 10:17 2018 Sunday ,25 November
Nicolas Roeg, celebrated director of 'Don't Look Now,' dies aged 90GMT 18:20 2018 Monday ,29 October
Bon Jovi to kick off 2019 European tour in Moscow, first show in Russia in 30 yearsGMT 20:06 2018 Monday ,22 October
"Burning" wins best picture at Daejong Film AwardsGMT 14:45 2018 Tuesday ,18 September
"Pataakha" stars coming to Dubai on September 23 to lay on their charmGMT 03:31 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
S.African jazz legend Hugh Masekela dies, aged 78GMT 02:33 2018 Saturday ,20 January
How to take a bullet, by 'Den of Thieves' star 50 CentMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor