New Delhi: The Pakistani censor board has denied that the movie Calendar Girls faces a ban in the country. “Not at all. We have not received Calendar Girls for certification. In fact, we have not even received a request to recommend issuance of an NOC to it,” said CBFC Chairman Mobashir Hasan.
After Phantom was banned in Pakistan, there were rumours that Calendar Girls would meet the same fate. Some people in Pakistan were reportedly upset over a line in the trailer, “Pakistani girls are as bold as other girls. In fact sometimes they are bolder than the rest.” The trailer also featured a protest with people shouting the slogan “Pakistani artist go back.”
The director Madhur Bhandarkar then stepped in to tweet a clarification. Bhandarkar gave an assurance that the film is not anti-Pakistan and requested censors there to watch it and give it the go-ahead.
Also read: Calendar Girls Trailer: Slideshow of fashion, scandals, lust & love
However, all the hue and cry seems premature since no Pakistani distributor has shown any interest in releasing the film there. With Calendar Girls having no established star, it is unlikely to do well in Pakistan in any case.
Perhaps, it was all a publicity stunt by the makers of the film to manufacture a controversy and grab some attention.
The film, which features Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi, Kyra Dutt, Ruhi Singh and Satarupa Pyne as the calendar girls, is set to release on September 25.
