Ek Tha Tiger poster
PEMRA in its letter states, "The film's content is reportedly based on the activities of ISI and RAW. The basic theme of the film revolves around the ISI with the objective to tarnish the image of the state-owned institution."
Yashraj Films vice-president (marketing and communication) Rafiq Gangjee said, "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 in Pakistan."
The film's director Kabir Khan adds, "It is because of the jingoistic films on Pak-bashing that our film is suffering. Just because there is a mention of the ISI this problem has occurred."
Gangjee justifies, "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."
Khan said adding, "EK Tha Tiger is not an anti-Pak film and the mention of RAW and ISI in the film does not mean we are showing them in a negative light.'' He adds, "Unlike the last film 'Agent Vinod' which was banned and had direct mention of the names of senior ISI officials, there is a just a reference."
Amjad Rashid, distributor of the film in Pakistan, is not worried. He said, "I knew the teaser of the film would face problems because of the reference but the trailer of the film which we have sent for the censor has no problem. There is a huge demand for the film in Pakistan and territories have been sold at double the price of any other Bollywood film." Rashid is he is expecting the film to collect Rs 10 crore. He said, "It will be screened in 35 places across Pakistan which is huge and three cinema halls in Faisalabad, Islamabad and Karachi will open with Ek Tha Tiger.''
To quell doubts about the film's anti-Pak nature, plans are afoot to organize a special preview of the film for the Pakistan government officials and agencies before the censor board clears it.
A source said, "Both Yashraj and the Pakistani distributor has big plans for the film and some officials from Yashraj will be flying down to Pakistan for the release.''
Gangjee said, "We will follow the law of the land and seek an official censor by showing the film to the authorities at the appropriate time. We are confident that there will be no issues." The censor board of Pakistan has yet to receive an application from the distributor for clearance of the film.
Censor board chief Shahnawaz Noon said, "The film promos have yet to be cleared by us. Apart from just mention about a Pakistani character or government we also look at the context in which it has been used. We will decide on the film once it is submitted to us."
Times View
Banning films, books or promos has rarely made sense. Barring extreme cases where such works are, for instance, aimed at inflaming communal passions, there can be little reason to curb freedom of expression in modern, liberal societies. Unfortunately, bans have been liberally used in the sub-continent. This is only the latest example of this official intolerance in Pakistan. Quite apart from the liberal argument against such bans, governments should also ask themselves how effective a ban on a film can be in the age of broadband and free downloads. Unlike in the past, preventing a film or trailer from being screened in a cinema hall is no longer enough to ensure it isn't seen. So what's the point?
