Dahmer v Javed Iqbal: Abu Aleeha upset with halt of Pakistani serial killer's biopic

Ryan Murphy’s serial killer biopic Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has broken Netflix records in its first week on the streamer. The Evan Peters-led series landed Netflix’s most-watched Week 1 on record for a new series worldwide following its release on September 21.

In its first five days on the platform, it drew in 196.2 million hours(opens in new tab) of viewership, taking the number one spot on Netflix’s Top 10 in several countries including Pakistan. The figure is the highest first week of viewership for an all-new series on the streamer to date. 

Now, the director of Javed Iqbal's biopic is highlighting how his depiction of Pakistan's most notorious serial killer was halted from screening in cinemas by the censor board mere days before its release date. 

Taking to Twitter, Abu Aleeha shared an image of Dahmer and Javed Iqbal's posters and penned, "A true story of a serial killer is trending all over the world in no time. Meanwhile, Pakistan banned the same kind of movie two days before its release in theatres."

He added, "We know it's not going to be as good as Dahmer because of direction and budget but it's definitely better than our five, six movies that we release on Eid every year. It might boost our film industry as well."

For the unversed, the film had its Karachi premiere at Nueplex Cinema on January 25, which was attended by the cast and crew as well as other members of the entertainment fraternity. The very next day, the director took to Twitter to announce that the Punjab government had put a halt to the film because of which, it could no longer release as promised. There has been no announcement about its potential release since.