Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma’s upcoming film ‘Pari’ has officially been banned in Pakistan, in another wave of controversy after previous Indian film ‘Padman’ also being banned. While the subject matter of ‘Padman’ around menstrual health was the premise of the Central Board Of Film Censors’s (CBFC) reason for the prohibition, ‘Pari’ has allegedly been banned for portraying anti-Islamic sentiments.
‘Pari’ allegedly promotes instances of black magic, and is anti-Muslim in various aspects
The CBFC stated that “‘Pari’s’ script, dialogue and storyline go against our Islamic values. The concepts within Islam have different ideologies about magic. This film stimulates the viewers in favor of black magic and promotes thoughts that are contradictory to our religion.”
Chairman of Pakistan’s Film Distributors Association, Chaudhry Ejaz Kamran further reinstated that “any film that goes against our culture and Islamic history should be banned in Pakistan”
The distributors have appealed to the CBFC to review the film again, and the CBFC is now apparently going to be watching it again and announce their final decision. ‘Pari’ has been produced by Anushka’s film house ‘Clean Slate Films’ and marks her third venture following hits ‘NH10,’ and ‘Phillauri.’ The supernatural horror also stars Parambrata Chatterjee, of ‘Kahaani’ fame and Rajat Kapoor.
Have a watch of the trailer
What are your thoughts on the ban?