Ali Zafar’s film Tere Bin continues to face delays in Pakistan. After being halted by the Central Board of Film Censors, the film has been hit by another roadblock as the appeals committee has reserved its decision on the film.
According to AFP, censors said the film was a threat to security and offensive to Muslims. The film was due to open at cinemas nationwide on Friday. Advertisements for the film in the Pakistani press have been accompanied by “subject to approval” notices.
Government officials on Friday attended a private screening of the film to reconsider whether to uphold the ban or release it for public, but delayed their decision.
“We have postponed the meeting and delayed the decision until Wednesday,” culture ministry official Moeenul Islam Bukhari said. He attributed the delay to members of the appeals’ committee failing to show up.
After the Central Board of Film Censors refused to provide exhibition rights to Tere Bin due to what it says are some comic scenes related to al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the distributors appealed to the government.
“I’m astonished they did this,” promoter Nadeem Mandviwalla told AFP.
“There are many TV programmes in Pakistan criticising the president, prime minister and everybody else in a comic way. Our society has become tolerant.”
He hopes the film will be released in Pakistan next Friday.
In India’s entertainment capital, Mumbai, the film’s producer, Pooja Shetty, said earlier that they were still hoping for clearance of the film.
“I’m hopeful that they will look at it in a positive light,” Shetty, the joint managing director at production company Walkwater Media, said.
“I don’t think it’s a preachy film, neither is it making fun of terrorism. It’s about a fake Osama. It’s a comedy, a spoofy film.”
Tere Bin was released in India and a number of countries on July 16, including Australia, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE.
It is expected to be released in the US at a later date, added Shetty. The film’s subject matter and publicity about Pakistan’s ban have catapulted the low-budget film into the spotlight in India and abroad.
Ali Zafar told Express 24/7 on Friday evening, “The objections raised by the censor board do not seem to comply with public emotions. Pakistanis and Muslims in the UAE have given a tremendous response to the film. The film earned $20,000 on Thursday night in Dubai, and it has become a smash hit in Dubai and in Mumbai. So Muslims and Pakistanis abroad love it, and did not find anything offensive in it. It’s a comedy film and it caters to the general psyche of the society.”
The musician believes the film “does not ridicule our society”. Zafar said, “In fact, it raises the opinions that persist in our society that we want peace, we do not want war. The war on terror thing has totally consumed us. The film gives a different perspective to this, in a totally light-hearted and comic matter. We have appealed, and we are hoping that they will come back with a positive response soon. If that happens, the film will release in Pakistan on July 22.”
When asked if the censor board’s objection - that the film could provoke suicide attacks within the country - was right, Zafar said, “Our country is rightly in a different situation to other Muslim countries but that should not prevent us from fighting it. That means we should close down everything because it seems to be in danger every day. You cannot close down life, and I would be the last person who would want anything bad to happen to my country.”
Zafar reiterated that he will accept the decision made by the authorities. “I cannot guarantee that anything bad will not happen. I respect the censor board’s decision and will respect the one the appellate board will make. It is totally in their hands.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2010.
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