KARACHI: It seems that after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s empathic call at the 69th United Nations General Assembly for resolving the Kashmir issue was slammed by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, distributors will shy away from releasing films involving the disputed territory. Coinciding with the recent chain of events is the release of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, which has been put on indefinite hold in Pakistan, with local distributors citing depiction of Kashmir in the film as a cause for concern.
“Since Haider is set in Kashmir and revolves around a controversial topic, we won’t be importing the film as yet. This certainly does not mean that the film won’t be releasing in Pakistan,” Chairman of IMGC Entertainment, Amjad Rasheed, tells The Express Tribune. “We will wait for the film to release internationally and analyse its theme before rendering it suitable for Pakistani audiences,” he adds.
Haider was not expected to do great business at the Pakistani box office, as it was facing stiff competition from films, such as Operation O21, Bang Bang and Na Maloom Afraad. Interestingly, it could be said that IMGC Entertainment is viewing the halt to Haider’s release as an opportunity to clear the way for Bang Bang and Operation 021, which are being distributed by them in Pakistan.
An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Haider is set for an October 2 release. It is the third instalment of Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean trilogy after Maqbool (2002) and Omkara (2006), and set against the backdrop of Kashmir with Shahid Kapoor playing the eponymous role.
The film tells the story of Haider (Shahid Kapoor), who returns to Kashmir after the mysterious disappearance of his father (Irrfan Khan). On his return, he discovers that his mother Ghazala (Tabu) has married her brother-in-law (Kay Kay Menon). Shraddha Kapoor plays the role of a journalist, Arshia, who is Haider’s love-interest. The film primarily centralises the oddity of the love-hate relationship between Haider and his mother.
COMMENTS (3)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1713425884-0/Tribune-Collage-Feature-Images-(10)1713425884-0-270x192.webp)
it appears to be a fantastic film that actually portrays the reality in indian Kashmir and not the misconceptualised, dancing and singing kashmir portrayed in most indian films - where that may be true as well - kashmir's freedom struggle against indian occupation and oppression is perhaps glaring in this film- a reason why most Hindu fundamentalists and rightists are thrashing the film. If india really is the democracy it claims to be then it should be brave enough to stand the content of this apparently marvelous looking film. It must definitely be shown here. Was long awaiting its release.
There is no good reason for it not to be screened here. They have so negatively portayed Indian army and their detention centres and have targeted kashmiris disappearances in mid 90's.
More than 95% of Indian movies viewed are through pirated sources such as screen shot DVDs, we download or broadcast without permission by cable channel. Whether this films is released in the theaters or not, it will be viewed illegally starting the day after it gets released.