‘Barbie’ neither banned, nor playing in cinemas across Punjab

Film’s withheld release is raising questions

KARACHI/ LAHORE:

In a strange turn of events, news of the highly anticipated Barbie film being banned in Punjab has been circulating online. A tweet claimed that the Punjab Film Censor Board withheld the NOC (No Objection Certificate) for the movie, citing "objectionable" content.

The announcement, that quickly gained traction on Twitter, states, "Barbie has been banned in Pakistan's Punjab region for showing pro-LGBTQ content. Punjab censor board has withheld NOC for the movie unless 'objectionable' content is removed."

A simple Google search can also show that major Lahore cinemas such as Cue Cinemas, Cine Star, and Universal Cinemas are not screening the film, further fueling such speculations. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is being screened at all the theatres mentioned, leading to questions and confusion among moviegoers about the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starrer.

"Wait, what? I just booked my tickets," tweeted a user. "Hope they ban Oppenheimer for 'nudity' too,” another voiced their frustration.

To get clarity on the matter, The Express Tribune reached out to Vasay Chaudhary, the vice-chairman of the Punjab Film Censor Board. However, Chaudhry did not respond till the filing of this report. Sources, albeit, told The Express Tribune that Barbie is not “banned” in Punjab and the Punjab Film Censor Board even issued an NOC for it yesterday.

According to sources, the board demanded that four words be beeped or excised somehow before the film opens for public screening and this didn't sit well with HKC Entertainment, the local distributors of Barbie in Pakistan. Upon reaching out, their local representative did not return The Express Tribune's calls, nor respond to messages. The company CEO Hammad Chaudhry was also unreachable till the filing of this report.

The film is running successfully in Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

This is a developing story.