Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal‘s upcoming movie, “Raazi” has been banned in Pakistan. The Dharma Productions will be releasing the film in India on May 11. However, the censor board has banned the film because of the controversial content and negative portrayal of Pakistan.
The patriotic local distributors have refused to purchase the film referring to its controversial content on the India-Pakistan 1971 war.
“Raazi” is an adaption of Harinder Sikka’s novel ‘Sehmat’. Alia Bhatt has played the character of a Kashmiri girl, Sehmat who is an Indian spy. Vicky Kaushal has played Iqbal Syed, a Pakistani army major in the movie. Sehmat’s father asks her to live in Pakistan and serve as an Indian spy. Sehmat crosses the border to marry a Pakistani major, to dig up information and provide it to the Indian army during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
A senior representative of a distribution company shared his views on the movie that, “It is disappointing to see that films on controversial subjects are being produced in India time and again,” He further said, “All our distributors are well aware of Alia’s role in Raazi and so, no one is willing to purchase the film. Patriotism is another reason for distributors not being pushed about buying the film. Indian producers should know that all our distributors have unanimously decided to boycott such controversial films.”
In conversation with The Hindu earlier, Vicky Kaushal stated that it would not be fair to call Raazi a war film because the movie looks into much deeper aspects. He further said, “The film is not just about the Indo-Pak war, it is much deeper than that. It is about an individual relationship. It is also about an era when there was tension between the two countries and during that time a Kashmiri woman married a Pakistani major.”
Vicky went further and shared that the film revolves around making tough choices, which would not only have an influence on their individual lives but rather the future of their countries. He added, “I wasn’t worried that I am playing a Pakistani, so it should be shown in a certain light. I think the story does the work. People will realise it is not an India-Pakistan war film.”