Kuwait bans Tamil film ‘Beast’ over anti-Pakistan sentiments

Superstar Vijay’s hostage drama has been halted for portraying Muslim as terrorists

When experimenting with storytelling mediums, sometimes screenwriters and directors fail to understand the stereotypes they propagate with recurring tropes downplaying certain religions and minorities. Thus, in the wake of rising Islamophobia, Kuwait is just not having it anymore. And Tamil superstar Vijay Chandrasekhar’s upcoming film, Beast, has been banned in the country for allegedly portraying Muslims as terrorists.

Trade analyst Ramesh Bala reported that the Nelson Dilipkumar directorial was banned by Kuwait’s Ministry of Information, however, its government has not disclosed a reason behind the ban. Critics have speculated that the decision hails from the film’s “portrayal of Muslims” and its “anti-Pakistan sentiments.”  

According to Bollywood Hungama, a source revealed that “Vijay’s character in Beast gets into a conflict with a high official of Pakistan. The censors in Kuwait were not happy with the propagation of anti-Pakistan sentiments by the makers. Since the sequence is crucial in the film, there was no way that it could be edited out. As a result, the Ministry of Information in the middle eastern country decided to not allow Beast a release.”

It appears that Kuwait’s censor board goes through a strict and thorough inspection as to what aligns with their foreign and native interests. Since this isn’t the first time an Indian film got banned there. Previously, films like Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup and Vishnu Vishal-starrer FIR were also banned for similar reasons.

However, the action-thriller has been cleared to release in UAE and other Arab countries. Beast’s trailer dropped online on Saturday. The film follows Vijay’s character, who is inside a mall, as terrorists hold the mall-goers as hostages. The film is slated for a worldwide release on April 23.

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