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19 March 2024

Salman Khan to fly to Pakistan after ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ banned

Salman Khan (YOUTUBE)

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

Soon after news came in that Salman Khan starrer 'Ek Tha Tiger' trailer has been banned in Pakistan and the film would not be released in India's neighbouring country, the Bollywood actor and the film's director Kabir Khan decided to fly down to Pakistan.

When asked about the trip: Kabir told The Times of India, "It's disturbing for Ek Tha Tiger to be perceived as an anti-Pakistan film. But it isn't surprising. Look at the cheap jingoistic anti-Pakistan films that have released over the years. We can't really blame them if they perceive Ek Tha Tiger as one such film."

Kabir added, "Neither Salman nor I have ever visited Pakistan. So why not? We are willing to do anything that's required to make Pakistanis believe that our project is not against them. I don't think the trailer being banned is a big deal. Once the film releases, the truth will be out."

Salman Khan’s ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ banned in Pakistan

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He may be the king of the lucrative box office during the Eid holidays, but even superstar Salman Khan can’t roar his way out of a possible ban on his action-packed ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ in Pakistan.

The upcoming thriller out of the Yash Raj Films camp is facing the axe in screens across Pakistan due to its alleged controversial take on the neighbouring country’s intelligence agency, ISI.

News filtering down from Pakistan states that governing watchdog, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, has issued a letter to all operators to refrain from screening ‘Ek Tha Tiger’s’ promos or discuss its content on any channel.

The media regulatory body has reportedly issued this letter to all satellite TV channels and cable networks.

According to the letter, the film’s theme comes with the “objective to tarnish the image of its state owned institution,” further adding that the film’s content will not garner air time in Pakistan until a no-objection certificate by the Central Board of Film Censors in the country has been issued.

When Emirates 24|7 quizzed production house, YRF, on the development, its Head of Operations MENAP, Nelson D’souza confirmed the news, adding in an emailed statement: “Unfortunately, possibly owing to certain films in the past having shown the country in a bad light, we are having to pay the price with our theatrical trailer of ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ being restrained from airing in Pakistan.”

He added: “If you see the body of work of both Yash Raj Films and Salman Khan, you will appreciate that we would never go down this route.

“We will follow the law of the land and seek an official censor by showing the film to the authorities at the appropriate time and we are confident that after that there will be no issues post that.”

Earlier in March, Pakistani censors also banned Saif Ali Khan’s ‘Agent Vinod’ in the country for allegedly portraying the ISI in negative terms.

The upcoming Kabir Khan-directed film, which also stars Katrina Kaif in the female lead, sees the ‘Dabangg’ actor play a RAW (Indian intelligence agency) agent sent to Pakistan to track a colleague suspected of selling missile technology secrets.

Set for a global release on August 15, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ has already generated a media buzz, with its second official trailer that released on YouTube two weeks ago already garnering over 1.8 million views.