Punjab Film Censor Board to review ‘Na Maloom Afraad 2’ again

A special meeting has been called after government banned the film last week, citing objectionable content

The Punjab Film Censor Board will soon be holding a full-board meeting to review the Fahad Mustafa and Javed Sheikh-starrer Na Maloom Afraad 2 once again, after the film was barred from screening last week. Members of the board have been issued a special invitation by the chairman and the meeting is expected to be held sometime during this week.

Just last Friday, the government of Punjab issued a region-wide ban on the screening of Na Maloom Afraad 2, which is the sequel to Nabeel Qureshi’s 2014 comedy hit Na Maloom Afraad. The reason cited for the decision was some objectionable scenes and content in the film and all cinemas in the province were asked to take it down. In fact, the government even sent its representatives to different cinema houses around Lahore to ensure that the stakeholders were following its orders.



It is pertinent to mention here that insiders at the Punjab Film Censor Board claim they actually had no objection to scene in the film at all. According to a senior member, Na Maloom Afraad 2 was watched in full before its release by the entire board, including female members, none of whom raised any concerns back then.

“Our government banned Na Maloom Afraad 2; we ourselves have not objections to it. The film is still being screened in Sindh and it’s beyond our understanding why it has been banned here in Punjab only,” the official told The Express Tribune on conditions of anonymity. “No one sought our opinion on the matter either. We were simply sent a notification and informed that the film had been banned.”

They added that the board will likely give Na Maloom Afraad 2 a green light after the second review as well.

Ironically, Na Maloom Afraad 2 has already been playing for about five weeks, having been released on Eidul Azha. Nonetheless, the ban has prompted many in the Pakistani film industry to protest, especially those who are against the screening of Indian films in the country and believe a ban should be put on them instead.

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