Pari declared unfit for public exhibition in Pakistan, producer stunned by ban

Pari was declared “unfit” for public exhibition by a panel followed by Central Board of Film Censors’ (CBFC) full board review as it “flouts various sections of the existing rules and code of CBFC” and “innumerable dialogues and scenes are against the established religious, social and moral ethos”.

Evil has no religion, says Pari co-producer Prernaa Arora of KriArj Entertainment after the Bollywood horror film was banned in Pakistan for being against religious ethos. According to Pakistan Censor Board chief Mobashir Hasan, Pari was declared “unfit” for public exhibition by a panel followed by Central Board of Film Censors’ (CBFC) full board review as it “flouts various sections of the existing rules and code of CBFC” and “innumerable dialogues and scenes are against the established religious, social and moral ethos”.

Anushka Sharma in a still from Pari.

Arora, who has produced the movie with the film’s lead actress Anushka Sharma’s banner Clean Slate Films, said, “They (the Pakistan censor board) seem to be taking random decisions. How do we explain why they would think of Pari as anti-Islamic? Evil, which the film portrays, has no religion. We as a responsible production feel very strongly about causing offence to any community. Earlier, our co-production PadMan was banned in Pakistan for being anti-Islamic. Now Pari is also anti-Islamic. Can they please define anti-Islamic? I have no doubt Pakistan will find my next release Parmanu - The Story of Pokhran also anti-Islamic.”

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, co-produced by KriArj Entertainment and John Abraham, is about the nuclear test explosions conducted at Pokhran in 1998.