By Muhammad Luqman
The film depicting what happened at the birth of two states in South Asia some 70 years ago, Partitiion: 1947 has been banned in Pakistan for misrepresenting the father of nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The movie , produced by English Film Director, Gurindra Chadha stars Bollywood actress, Huma Qureshi who has played the role of a Muslim Girl who is the translator of Lord Mountbatton.
Previously titled as The Viceroy’s House, Chadha, the English director of Kenyan-Asian origin took to Twitter, saying that the movie is now banned in Pakistan.
It is unfortunate my film has been banned in Pakistan. It will always be the land of my ancestors,” wrote Chadha.
According to media reports, Sindh Film Censor Board secretary Abdul Razzaq Khuhawar has confirmed the news, citing the misrepresentation of Jinnah as the sole reason. “It’s a historical film and nothing negative is shown against Pakistan. The main reason for banning it was the misrepresentation of Quiad-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” he said.
“We felt his character was not portrayed correctly and it felt strange. Although the character only appears in a few scenes as the film mostly revolves around Lord Mountbatten, the actor didn’t look like Jinnah at all. If you had seen it, you couldn’t tell it was Jinnah. Otherwise, there were no issues with the film.”
The Sindh censors deemed it unsuitable, stating that “the political narrative contradicts the national interest of Pakistan.”
While Central Film Censor Board was not available, Punjab censor hasn’t received the film for screening yet.
Initially, there used to be a unified central censor board in Pakistan. After the 18th amendment, the censors were devolved into provincial censor boards, giving decision-making power to each province.
Though Balochistan and K-P don’t have their censor boards, they turn to CBFC for certification.
