Bangistan gets a ‘complete ban’ by central censor board

Film has been termed offensive to Muslims and Hindus living in Pakistan

KARACHI: Ritesh Sidhwani’s upcoming film, Bangistan, which revolves around two suicide bombers, Hafeez Bin Ali (Riteish Deshmukh) and Praveen Chaturvedi (Pulkit Samrat), who have been convinced to kill themselves in a mission until they get a reality check, has finally been banned by the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) Pakistan.

Bangistan was submitted for certification earlier this week and after previewing it Wednesday afternoon, the board decided to put a complete ban on the film.

“The film has not been certified and given a complete ban, primarily because it is offensive to Muslims and Hindus living in Pakistan,” Chairperson CBFC, Mobashir Hasan told The Express Tribune.

The central board has also requested all the provincial boards to put a complete ban on the film, since there is no way in which the film can be edited to suit the audiences. “The problem with the film is that it’s a religious satire, which leaves very little room for any lenience,” added Hasan.

However, measures to stop any sort of screening of Bangistan do not stop with the request to the provincial boards as the CBFC is also seeking cooperation from the information secretary and Pemra.

“We have asked the information secretary to prohibit any sort of sale of the film’s CDs or DVDs in the market and we have also requested Pemra to make sure that the film doesn’t get any air time on television,” added Hasan.

A show cause notice has been issued to Summit entertainment, the local distributors of the film, in case they would want a full board to reconsider the decision of the complete ban.

Earlier this month, the Indian media reported that the film has been banned in Pakistan.

“’Basing their judgment on the trailer alone, they have decided that the film is anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim. If anything, it’s anti-terrorism and since Pakistan is as much a victim of this global menace as any other country, it is in their interest to screen the film. Its message is that it’s foolish to give up your life for a cause you’ll not live to fight for’, said Sidhwani who has written to the ministry asking for a review of the decision,”  reported the Times of India along with the headline ‘Bangistan banned in Pakistan’.

Following the reports the local censor boards refuted the claim, stating that film wasn’t even imported at the time.

The film was scheduled to release on August 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th,  2015.

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