From “Zindagi Tamasha” to “Aurat Raj,” these are some examples of Pakistani movies that were not allowed to be shown in Pakistan.
Twitter users, in the wake of the revocation of ‘Joyland’s censor certificate, have begun compiling a list of other films that have been subjected to censorship in a manner analogous to that of Joyland.
The announcement that the critically acclaimed movie Joyland would be shown in Pakistan was almost too good to be true. Pakistan has a history of censoring movies that do not fall within the realm of the genres that are permitted to be shown in theatres there, such as overdone romantic comedies and predictable action-thrillers. Censorship, along with other forms of social and political repression, has had a significant historical impact on the local film industry.
The moment a movie decides to step beyond of the predetermined parameters and investigate more realistic topics that would provoke viewer thought, it is either outlawed or labelled controversial for depicting a “fake reality.”
However, every once in a while, people will have discussions on social media about how the quality of the information that is being created is not satisfactory. But does every piece of material that is created even get published? The prohibitions bring up critical concerns about who is making these decisions and whether or not they are even taking into account the opinions of the general public regarding which movies they would like to watch.
The bans also lead one to question whether or not a certificate issued by the censor board actually carries any weight at all. This is because Joyland was given the green light to be released in Pakistan on November 18, but a week before its release, the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) revoked the censor certificate granted to the filmmaker months ago because of written complaints received against the film’s “objectionable” content.
In order to have a better grasp on the gravity of the situation, a Twitter user by the name of Javeria Naseem has compiled a list of Pakistani movies that have met a similar fate in their home country.
