Neerja’s story to remain unheard in Pakistan

Commerce ministry revokes NOC for film soon after okaying it

KARACHI:

While the fate of no film screened in the country is set in stone, none have had the misfortune that Neerja did. The Sonam Kapoor-starrer was banned in Pakistan without being submitted to the censor boards. The ministry of commerce had initially authorised the import of the film by issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to IMGC Entertainment, the interested importer of Neerja, allowing the film to be brought into Pakistani territory. Later on, the ministry revoked the import authorization certificate, eliminating any chances of the film being imported, let alone being screened.

Speaking of the bizarre turn of events, chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Mobasher Hasan, shared that the information ministry had initially approached them for comments regarding the film. In response to the request, CBFC officials sent details like the synopsis, cast and crew of the film that they had found over the internet. “Following this, the information ministry allowed the commerce ministry to import Neerja into Pakistan,” explained Hasan, while speaking to The Express Tribune. Unfortunately, just days later, the commerce ministry reversed its decision, sparing the film from going to the censor board.



Unable to pinpoint an exact reason for this, Hasan claimed the decision had been made purely by the commerce ministry. After this, the information ministry directed CBFC against censoring Neerja, and instructed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (Pemra) to ensure that the film is not shown on cable channels throughout Pakistan.

When approached for a comment, a commerce ministry official said the NOC had been issued after the legal requirements were met. “However, due to the objectionable nature of the content, we revoked the certificate,” he said.

While CBFC officials continue to remain in the dark regarding the issue, IMGC Executive Director Abid Rasheed, speculated the decision may have stemmed from the ‘anti-Pakistan elements’ presented in the film. “Neerja is basically about the hijacking of a Pan Am flight in Karachi and then, it also shows Muslims in a negative light,” said Rasheed. “That is something which may not go down too well with local audiences.” As the information ministry has already notified Pemra and cinema owners against screening the film, failure to comply may result in punishment in the form of heavy fines, cinema shutdowns or even imprisonment.



While the misfortune that has befallen Neerja might be a first of its kind, this is hardly the first time a Bollywood film has run into trouble with local authorities. Just over the course of the last three years, three major ventures were banned within the country, namely Haider, Phantom and Ek Tha Tiger. Although it is evident that even local films are not guaranteed a spot in theatres, as was revealed in the recent controversy involving Swaarangi, Rasheed remains confident that his company will not incur any losses. “We have an agreement with all foreign distributors and producers that should their film not be screened in Pakistan for a certain reason [such as censorship], we will be compensated through another movie later on,” he shared.

Neerja has been directed by Ram Madhvani under the banner of Fox Star Studios. It stars Kapoor in the titular role while veteran actor Shabana Azmi and music director Shekhar Ravjiani also join in as supporting actors. The film is expected to release in India on February 19.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th,  2016.

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