Vidya Balan starrer Begum Jaan will not release in Pakistan, says producer Mahesh Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt has announced that Begum Jaan, which stars Vidya Balan as the titular character, will not be released in Pakistan because of its content. [caption id=“attachment_3356788” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Vidya Balan in Begum Jaan. Image from Facebook[/caption] Speaking to India Today, Mahesh Bhatt, whose production house Vishesh Films has made the film, said that the film has been banned in Pakistan because the country does not screen films whose content revolves around the Partition era. “I was told by my distributor that Pakistan has a policy does not permit the import of films which deal with the issue of partition. On learning this I requested the key officer of the censor board of Pakistan to at least view the film and then take a decision. I was assured that they would look into the matter. Sadly, I have not heard from them after that,” he said. Bhatt later added that his distributor had informed him that the film would not be imported by him into Pakistan. The news of the ban of Begum Jaan’s release comes days after it was announced that Aamir Khan’s Dangal would not be released in Pakistan because the Pakistani censor board had asked the filmmakers to cut out two scenes which featured the Indian national anthem and flag and the filmmakers chose not to. Naam Shabana, starring Taapsee Pannu and Akshay Kumar, also faced the same issue owing to its ’terrorism-related scenes’. Previously, in an interview to Deccan Chronicle, producer Vishesh Bhatt who is the son of Mukesh Bhatt, expressed doubts over the film’s release in the neighbouring country. He said, “Pakistan is in a kind of a limbo of a state in general, because of various reasons. We’re in talks, but as of now there’s no confirmation from there, thanks to the political situation.” The producer has even written to the Pakistan government to allow the film to be released, according to reports. Begum Jaan tells the story of a brothel owner set in the backdrop of the Indian Independence movement. This brothel is located on the border of India and Pakistan, according to the plot of the film. Directed by Srijit Mukherji, it stars Vidya Balan, Gauahar Khan, Ila Arun, Pallavi Sharda, Naseeruddin Shah and Rajit Kapoor. In India, it is set to release on 14 April, 2017. It is a remake of the Bengali film Rajkahini, also directed by Srijit Mukherji.