Barbie screening halted in Pakistan’s Punjab, launched with cuts

By India Today World Desk: The screening of Hollywood film Barbie was quickly halted in Pakistan’s Punjab province over “objectionable content”. Later, the movie was working in theatres throughout the province after some dialogues have been censored.

Barbie was launched in theatres worldwide on Friday (July 21). The film was launched in lots of nations throughout Asia, together with India and Pakistan. It stars Margot Robbie because the well-known doll and Ryan Gosling as her boyfriend Ken.

Reports of Barbie being banned in Punjab province started circulating on-line when the Punjab Film Censor Board didn’t difficulty a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) on this regard. Some folks even took to social media saying they have been requested to get a refund for the tickets and the film stopped screening halfway.

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Did Punjab govt (re)ban Barbie simply now? Was attending the 8:30 PM present at Universal Cinemas Emporium they usually simply turned on the lights after which advised us to get refunds?,,?..?

This is unreal…. pic.twitter.com/1jsbNMOFOZ
— Hafsa Ahsan /حفصہ ØçحسÙÆ (@HafsaAhsan1) July 22, 2023

Is punjab extra vulnerable to getting influenced by LGBTQ content material? Why would you ban barbie? People wish to watch it. They have core reminiscences related to the film. Kahin tow sakoon sans lene do bhai. Ajeeb pagalpan.
— Zunaira Akbar (@MissMacAdams) July 21, 2023

Major cinemas in Lahore, the provincial capital, such because the Cue Cinemas, Cine Star and Universal Cinemas, weren’t screening the film, fuelling additional speculations of a doable ban.

But, sources advised The Express Tribune that the film was not banned in Punjab province and the censor board had issued an NOC for it on Thursday.

But the censor board demanded that the 4 phrases “promoting homosexuality” ought to be beeped or excised and this didn’t go down properly with HKC Entertainment, the native distributors of Barbie in Pakistan.

On Saturday morning, an individual from the censor board mentioned the distributor finally agreed to make the modifications and the film was launched to theatres and tickets have been obtainable throughout Punjab province.

Interestingly, Barbie was working with none cuts in Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

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In Muslim-majority Pakistan, homosexuality is prohibited and flicks with LGBTQ+ content material invite cuts by provincial censor boards, which deem it a violation of the nation’s social and cultural values.

In November final yr, Joyland — a Cannes prize-winning movie and Pakistan’s entry for the 2023 Oscars — was banned by the federal government for being “clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality” of the nation.

The movie was later cleared by the nationwide censor board after the federal government ordered a assessment, however remained banned in Punjab province.

In 2019, the movie Zindagi Tamasha was banned after its director was accused of blasphemy by a far-right non secular occasion for the film’s portrayal of a spiritual man.

(with inputs from AFP)