Tag: banned

  • Why did Hrithik Roshan’s film get banned in UAE and Gulf countries?

    Why did Hrithik Roshan’s film get banned in UAE and Gulf countries?

    Earlier this week, the Bollywood propaganda action movie ‘Fighter,’ featuring Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan, became a hot topic as it got banned in several Gulf countries.
    Initially, reports suggested that the ban affected many Gulf nations except the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, recent reports from trade analysts indicate that the movie is now facing a “suspension” in the UAE, as major theater chains have stopped bookings. The film’s distributor in the UAE had recently confirmed that the film will get released. The exact reason for the ban is not disclosed, but reports suggest it’s due to “some objectionable content in the film.”
    There were earlier speculations that ‘Fighter’ was supposed to be released in the UAE with a PG 15 rating before the ban.

    Trade analyst Girish Johar confirmed the same. He stated on X, “In a setback, Fighter officially banned across Middle East regions for theatrical release. Only UAE will release the film with a PG15 classification!” Recent reports now claim that UAE has also banned the film, with confirmation from the film’s UAE distributor, as per Times of India.

    The movie’s story, which revolves around India’s response to the attack in Pulwama, India-occupied Kashmir.
    Many in Pakistan disapproved of how the Pulwama attack was depicted in the film, claiming it “exploited a sensitive matter” and promoted an “anti-Pakistan” stance. It’s believed that this criticism, combined with the film’s controversial subject, influenced the decisions of the Gulf censor boards.
    Responding to these concerns, Siddharth Anand, the film’s director, urged the public to watch the entire film for context before forming an opinion based on the trailer. He emphasized that ‘Fighter’ aims to raise questions about terrorism, not to incite hostility against any nation. The main cast echoed the sentiment.

    Even though ‘Fighter’ won’t be shown in some places, it will still be screened in theaters in India. The movie stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, along with Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, and Sanjeeda Shaikh in the cast. Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures worked together to produce the film.

  • ILT20 bans Afghanistan’s Naveen ul Haq for 20 months

    ILT20 bans Afghanistan’s Naveen ul Haq for 20 months

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) International T20 (ILT20) League has banned Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen ul Haq for 20 months.

    ILT20 league management says that Naveen had refused to play in the ILT20 league despite signing a contract with Sharjah Warriors.

    The second edition of the ILT Twenty League will be played in January next year, however, due to the ban, Afghan fast bowlers will not be able to participate in the 2024 and 2025 ILT20 League.

    Naveen ul Haq has signed a contract with Durban Super Giants of the South African T20 League, scheduled to be played alongside the ILT20 league.

  • Censor Board bans documentary ‘My Mother’s Daughter’ about forced religious conversion

    Censor Board bans documentary ‘My Mother’s Daughter’ about forced religious conversion

    Filmmakers Ahmen Khawaja and Mariam Khan took to their social media accounts to call out Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors for censoring their short documentary ‘My Mother’s Documentary’ which was due to screen at the Women International Film Festival.
    The documentary explores the issue of forced religious conversions by following the life of a minor christian girl who was abducted and forcibly married to a middle-aged man.
    Khan shared the letter sent by the censor board which had based its reasons for censoring the film by calling it “propaganda” as well as for highlighting “wrong values” which are “against the Pakistani culture and society.”

    Read Khan’s full statement here:

    “On International Women’s Day we found out that Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors in Islamabad (CBFC) has decided to censor our short documentary My Mother’s Daughter and is not allowing it to screen this weekend at the @womenthroughfilm film festival.

    The film follows the real story of a minor Christian girl in Faisalabad who is abducted by a middle aged man, forcefully married to him and converted to Islam. Up to 1,000 young girls are forcefully converted every year (1), and to call this propaganda is a gross injustice to their plight and stories. We spent months verifying the case and going to court hearings with the survivor to ensure the utmost authenticity in the film. The censor board seems to be of the view that our film is ‘propaganda that is trying to highlight wrong values that go against the culture in Pakistan’. Upon speaking directly with the Chairperson, we were told “the full board review can’t be done before the festival because the office is being renovated”. Please help spread the word because women’s stories deserve to be told.”

    ‘My Mother’s Daughter’ had also won the Short Documentary Award at the DC South Asian Film Festival last year.

  • Saim Sadiq shares an emotional story behind a scene in “Joyland” on Alina Khan’s birthday

    Saim Sadiq shares an emotional story behind a scene in “Joyland” on Alina Khan’s birthday

    On Alina Khan’s birthday, director and writer of ‘Joyland’ Saim Sadiq took to Instagram to appreciate the actor’s talent and creative spirit by sharing how the two had bonded together before shooting a scene in Joyland where the audience meets Biba for the first time.

    You can read the full post below:

    A day before the shoot for Darling, Alina disappeared for hours. @sanajafri14 and I texted her to bring this particular pair of shoes with her that she had to wear for her first scene. The first scene this magnificently talented girl would ever shoot in her life. But Alina just wouldn’t answer anyone’s call.

    No one could trace her until 12 am at night when she finally called me from an unknown number. I could tell that she was trembling when she said she was stuck in “a situation” and just ran away from it and now needs a place to stay the night. I told her to come over.

    She finally arrived at 2 am. She had bruises on her neck from the assault that she had managed to run away from. Yet, all she cared about was that she makes it to set on time and not lose this opportunity. And in that escape, she lost her phone and handbag. All she managed to bring with her were the shoes and she kept assuring herself and me that everything was still fine because she had her shoes for her first scene. I gave her an ointment, she slept in my sister’s room and the next morning we started the shoot, cracking jokes and being chill as if nothing had happened.

    Years later, we shot for her introductory scene as Biba in Joyland and had the most cathartic experience of our lives. Both of us found a quiet room to discuss what we normally only joke about: the casualness with which we have to process the violence around us. We both cried and got the tears out of our systems because we didn’t want Biba to cry in the scene. She was going to show up with the blood on her shirt and there was going to be no explanation to where it came from. Because the everyday violence around us never ever makes sense. We hugged and cried again after packup because we knew… this was our scene.

    It’s hard for me to think of a person who is more unaware of their inspirational status in other people’s lives than Alina! You are a true heroine of our times!
    Happy Birthday, @onlyalinakhan ! Thank you for your talent, your spirit, and your magical artistry!

    You were born to be a movie star!

  • ‘I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands’: Trump welcomes Musk’s takeover

    ‘I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands’: Trump welcomes Musk’s takeover

    The takeover was hailed, but former US president Donald Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter after the riots on January 6, 2021, said little about making a comeback. “I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs who truly hate our country.”

    Trump was banned after the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which the Republican leader is suspected of instigating. Musk has said he might lift the ban.

    Former Russian President and current Vice-Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, tweeted his congratulations, saying “Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business.”

    Others urged Musk to undo restrictions imposed by the social network. In response to @catturd2, a random account with 852,000 followers, known for being a big supporter of Trump’s election fraud claims, and who said it was “shadowbanned,” Musk tweeted “I will be digging in more today.”

    Margarita Simonyan, the head editor of the Russian state-run media outlet RT, pleaded with Musk to “unban RT and Sputnik accounts and take the shadow ban off mine as well.”

    Musk and Twitter are under increasing pressure since he plans to address the Twitter workers on Friday after the purchase is finalised.

    “Hey @ElonMusk, now that you own Twitter, will you help fight back against Trudeau’s online censorship bill C-11?” tweeted Canada Proud, a group attempting to unseat Justin Trudeau as prime minister of Canada.

    According to Musk, Twitter may serve as the basis for a “super app” that does everything from ride-hailing to retail and money transfers.

    However, Twitter is having trouble retaining its most active users, who are crucial to the company. Less than 10 per cent of monthly active users are “heavy tweeters,” but they produce 90 per cent of all tweets and 50 per cent of global income.

  • Two TTP banned ‘terrorists’ arrested in Karachi, planning attacks

    Two TTP banned ‘terrorists’ arrested in Karachi, planning attacks

    Two terrorists allegedly belonging to the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested on Monday, in Karachi during a raid.

    The two were planning attacks on multiple security officials in the city.

    According to Samaa, police have seized cracker bombs, fake passports, ball bearings, illegal arms, and detonators from their possession. The terrorists, identified as Razaullah alias Nasir and Habib Noor alias Sher Habib, joined the organisation in 2011 and 2008, respectively.

    Earlier, as per the media outlet a group of six TTP men entered Karachi.

    The police are currently interrogating the remaining terrorists. A senior official said, “The test is to locate and arrest the remaining four. The arrested suspects said that the Tashkeel [group] of six suspects was headed by a person namely Umar.”

  • VIDEO: PEMRA bans energy drink ad for being ‘vulgar, un-Islamic, against ethics of Pakistani society’

    VIDEO: PEMRA bans energy drink ad for being ‘vulgar, un-Islamic, against ethics of Pakistani society’

    Continuing to keep an eye out for content that “does not go in line with social norms of Pakistani society”, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has banned an energy drink commercial for being “vulgar, un-Islamic and unethical”.

    “It [PEMRA] has monitored that most satellite television channels are airing a TVC [television commercial] of Power Full (energy drink). The content of the advertisement is considered to be indecent, vulgar and against Islamic values, social norms and ethics of Pakistani society,” read a notification by the media watchdog, a copy of which was also released by PEMRA on Twitter.

    It added that they had been receiving complaints by the general public against the advert for being unethical and vulgar, and went on to direct satellite TV channels to conform to the Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015.

    The commercial was prohibited under Section 27 of PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2007, the notification said, warning of legal action in case of non-compliance.

    While it has been taken off the air, the advert is still doing rounds over the internet.

    Here is a censored version of the commercial.

    What do you think of the advert and the action against it? Let The Current know in the comments.