Terrorist Hafiz Saeed gets film banned in Pakistan.
By Dileep Thekkethil
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Banning an Indian movie is not something new in Pakistan. But what makes the ban of the Saif Ali Khan starrer ‘Phantom’, directed by Kabir Khan, significant is that Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind behind the Mumbai terror attacks, is the one who managed to get this done by moving the courts there.
Saeed, in his plea, had alleged the makers of the movie for trying to propagate “filthy propaganda” against him and his outfit.
The ban slapped on the film was sharply criticized by the director Kabir Khan saying that Phantom is not anti-Pakistani but anti-terrorism.
Kabir was quoted by ANI saying, “I am feeling a bit strange as the film has been banned even before it reached the Censor Board. It is not an anti-Pakistan Movie. This is only an anti-terrorism film and is against the masterminds of 26/11 attack.”
Saif Ali Khan, who plays the lead in the film, said whatever has been told in the movie is based on facts. He was quoted by IANS, saying, “Phantom has its base in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which might have infuriated the perpetrators in Pakistan.”
He reaffirmed that the movie isn’t anti-Pakistani.
Saif told IANS over phone from Mumbai: “Unfortunately, certain films that they (Pakistan) will make, we (India) will ban, and certain films that we make, they will ban. If you don’t want to get banned, you have to make other films like Race… which is fair enough because certain political issues are very sensitive between the two countries,”
He added: “The film is about terrorism and there might be people in Pakistan who are anti-India. It’s (the film) not anti-Pakistan, but that’s okay. Even Agent Vinod wasn’t anti-Pakistan… that got banned,” added.
When asked if Pakistan is an important market for Indian films, he said, “You can make a fair amount of money from that market, so it’s bit of a shame. It’s not important in terms of… it doesn’t dictate what kind of movies we make.”