New Delhi: Pirated copies of movie ‘Phantom' are in huge demand in Pakistan, since the movie was banned in the Islamic nation. A court had earlier banned the movie on a petition filed by Jama'at-ud-Da'wah chief Hafiz Muhammed Saeed.
Kabir Khan directorial movie based on a novel titled, ‘Mumbai Avengers' by S. Hussain Zaidi traces the aftermath of the infamous 26/11 attacks on the city of light. The movie was released in India and abroad on 28th August and have managed to collect 47. 4 crores at box office.
The controversy around the movie started when Saeed who was the alleged mastermind of the attacks demanded a ban on it. According to him, the movie's content would infiltrate the citizens of Pakistan.
After the movie's release, another problem was posed on it by the organisation, Doctors without Borders. They asserted that the movie had misrepresented their role in war torn countries, thus putting its workers at risk. Lately, a Pakistani actor Faisal Qureshi mocked the movie and his video went viral.
Despite all these controversies, ‘Phantom' has successfully made it to the ‘to-watch' list of Pakistani audiences. The increasing demands of pirated copies of this Saif Ali Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer ascertain the same.
A source in Pakistan told a leading daily, "Following the success of the film in India there is a huge demand building for the film in Pakistan. The pirated copies are already out there but the demand has increased. There is a lot of pressure to procure good quality print."
Adding the insider revealed, "There was a lot of curiosity over the movie being banned but there is also a genuine case of people wanting to see good content. Once the film has become a box office success in India due to the good word of mouth publicity people in Pakistan too want to watch the movie.”
Speaking on the matter film producer Sajid Nadiadwala said, “Piracy is inherently bad for our business. But somewhere it is a compliment that people of Pakistan want to watch it and the fact that the demand has gone up after the movie's performance in Indian market.”
The movie has already done fair business in India in a week and this piece of information only proves that the ban did not overshadow its popularity.
