The Censor Board has directed cinema halls and distributors not to release the movie's trailers and to remove billboards for the film.
Islamabad:
Pakistani censors have banned advertisements for Bollywood star Akshay Kumar's latest filmKhiladi 786 because the number 786 is revered by someMuslims and could hurt their sentiments.
The Censor Board has directed cinema halls anddistributors not to release the movie's trailers and to removebillboards for the film.
Khiladi 786 is yet to be cleared by the censors forscreening in Pakistan.
The censors barred the advertisements as the number 786is revered by some Muslims and they could find the name of thefilm objectionable, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Censor Board Chairman Raja Mustafa Haider told the daily:"The appearance of banners for the film in Rawalpindi andother areas was brought to my notice and I asked the CityDistrict Government Rawalpindi to remove all of them."
He did not disclose the final decision about the fate ofthe movie. "We will decide it when the movie comes to us,before screening in the cinema houses," he said.
Haider further said the Censor Board had managed toconvince distributors to present the film without the number786. The movie was originally scheduled to be released onDecember 7.
Film distributor Suhail Mukhtar said the Censor Board hadthe legal right to alter the name of a film if it was found tobe objectionable. However, he said the screening of the filmwould not stop unless it had "objectionable dialogues andscenes".
Like other Bollywood stars, Akshay Kumar has a sizeablefollowing in Pakistan.
The Censor Board has directed cinema halls anddistributors not to release the movie's trailers and to removebillboards for the film.
Khiladi 786 is yet to be cleared by the censors forscreening in Pakistan.
The censors barred the advertisements as the number 786is revered by some Muslims and they could find the name of thefilm objectionable, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Censor Board Chairman Raja Mustafa Haider told the daily:"The appearance of banners for the film in Rawalpindi andother areas was brought to my notice and I asked the CityDistrict Government Rawalpindi to remove all of them."
He did not disclose the final decision about the fate ofthe movie. "We will decide it when the movie comes to us,before screening in the cinema houses," he said.
Haider further said the Censor Board had managed toconvince distributors to present the film without the number786. The movie was originally scheduled to be released onDecember 7.
Film distributor Suhail Mukhtar said the Censor Board hadthe legal right to alter the name of a film if it was found tobe objectionable. However, he said the screening of the filmwould not stop unless it had "objectionable dialogues andscenes".
Like other Bollywood stars, Akshay Kumar has a sizeablefollowing in Pakistan.
