The Punjab Film Censor Board has recently issued a notification that calls for the suspension of Na Maloom Afraad 2 (after 5 weeks of screening) in Punjab.
The censor board has not yet come up with anything which has caused the ban in the first place.
The comedy film, starring Javed Sheikh, Fahad Mustafa and Mohsin Abbas Haider in key roles, revolves around the misadventures of the above trio as they embark on a get-rich-quick scheme in Cape Town, which involves an Arab sheikh and his gold toilet.
“This is a really strange move by the Punjab Censor Board. We had already received clearance by the censor board and the film released in September with no issues,” Nabeel Qureshi, director of the film, revealed.
“Were they just not watching the film at that time? To clear a film for screening and then ban it a month later sets a really bad precedent. It’s just ridiculous,” Qureshi said.
“Only 2-3 films get made in Pakistan every year that actually benefit the film industry. If you start banning those films where will that leave us?,” the director added.
“The censor board doesn’t seem to have any issue with Indian films, which is even more strange to me.”
“Also, the censor board issued the notification on a weekend so I couldn’t even go to court to challenge the ban immediately,” Qureshi said, adding he will take the matter to court, nonetheless.
The film was barred from screening in the UAE due to alleged misrepresentation of Arabs, but producer Fizza Ali Meerza has maintained that the ban “will not affect their ways of saying things”.
In my personal opinion, if this movie has had some explicit content then the censor board should have haulted the film before screening. Banning the movie after 5 weeks of release has certainly raised a lot of questions! I hope the actual reason behind doing so would be revealed soon and team FHM is onto further details!
