Poor Mahira Khan, there’s no end to the trouble the Raees actress keeps finding herself in back home in Pakistan. Just out of the controversy of caught smoking (clandestinely?) with Ranbir Kapoor in New York, which was misconstrued as being in a secret relationship with the Bollywood heartthrob, Mahira now finds herself riding the horns of a dilemma over the release of her film Verna which deals with rape and the plight of women in that country. Its Lahore premiers has been banned tonight because the Pakistan censor board is just as hidebound as India’s own Central Board of Film Certification and believes that rape should not be talked about.
Pakistan’s The Express Tribune reports that Verna’s director Shoaib Mansoor is in a state of shock over the non-issue of a censor certificate ostensibly due to the film’s ‘mature and edgy content’. The Sindh Board of Film Censors (SBFC) general secretary Abdul Razzaq Khuhawar told the newspaper that the film was objectionable on the basis of its subject. “The topic is rape, and the culprit is the governor’s son. The film doesn’t have to be banned, and can be tweaked and censored a bit to be deemed fit for release,” he said, adding that the SBFC hasn’t certified it yet as they’re waiting for a decision from the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) of Islamabad.
Meanwhile, CBFC chairman Mobashir Hasan was quoted as having said, “The film is yet to be viewed by the full board to see if there are any objections.” The film’s director has gone into appeal seeking urgent relief for Verna.The film will hopefully be reviewed by the full board today. “Nothing has been decided and the film is not banned so far. We will view it and come to a final decision soon,” the CBFC chairman reiterated. The cancellation of the Lahore premiere has come as a rude shock to many given the anticipation of the film that was built up by the aggressive promos done by Mahira and co-star Haroon Rashid.
Verna is director Shoaib Mansoor’s comeback film. His last directorial was the controversial film Bol in 2011 which also had Mahira in a lead role. Bol was about a religious Muslim family facing financial difficulties caused by raising too many children and the father’s desire to sire a son and his rejection of a transgender daughter. It was one of the highest grossing Pakistani films of all time and was positively received in India as well. Bollywood’s Taran Adarsh gave it four stars and described Bol as a “brilliant film embellished with bravura performances” while Komal Nahta also gave it four stars and said the film was topical and thought-provoking.
