Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Banned In 4 States

ae dil hai mushkil banned in 4 states

The most awaited movie of the year ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil‘ has been in the limelight since the beginning from its teaser launch. Initially it was because of the raunchy character portrayed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and now because of the nationality of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. Karan Johar’s film was set to release next week on October 28 featuring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fawad Khan; which in all likelihood, will not be released this Diwali.

The Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI) has decided against the screening of any film starring Pakistani artistes in theaters. This applies to single-screen theatres in four states — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa. It can mean a loss of 25% for the film.

The last Bollywood movie which walked the controversial path was Udta Punjab for its depiction of heavy substance abuse and use of swear words in the film. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has been garnering a lot of rift among the public because of actor Fawad Khan post the tensions between India-Pakistan.

Addressing the media, COEAI’s president Nitin Datar said that the decision was taken keeping the public sentiment in mind and not under any political pressure. He later added, “Keeping in mind the patriotic feeling and the national interest in mind, we request all our member exhibitors to refrain from screening movies which have involvement of any Pakistani artists, technicians, directors, music directors, etc. Till the relation between India and Pakistan becomes normal, no films with Pakistani actors can be released.”

ae dil hai mushkil poster 3

When asked about whether this decision extends to other releases like ‘Raees,’ which has Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in a lead role, Datar dodged the question by saying “we will deal with that in the future when they (the filmmakers) come to the association.” The decision to not screen certain films might cause financial losses for the theatre owners but Datar said there will be greater damage if their screens were vandalised by the protestors.

ADHM will be the first film featuring a Pakistani actor in a pivotal role to be screened after the Uri attack by Pakistan on Kashmir.

Earlier, the Censor Board demanded that Ranbir Kapoor’s and Aishwarya’s love making scenes should be removed.

The film has been made with a budget of Rs 55 crore. By banning the release in four states, the film can bear a loss of 6-7 crores. Trade analyst Amul Mohan feels it’s not a valid decision to put a break on a film which is ready for release.

The states named so far fall under the Mumbai territory of films. Mohan said “When the film was being made, things were not this bad. I don’t buy into this situation of not release at all. These are all single screen theatres that are taking a stand. Multi-screens will not be affected.” He further added “The film is distributed by Fox studios and they have already started distributing on advance money basis. It will not be easy for distributors to say no to them. Also, it is important to understand that for theatres, it is not about rejecting one Dharma Production film but saying no to many Fox films, which include Hollywood movies as well.”

Other than Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees starring Mahira Khan as well as Dear Zindagi starring Ali Zafar might get hit by this ban.

Ae Dil Hai Mushki; Movie Official Trailer:

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here