Aamir won t release Dangal in Pakistan over demand for cuts

New Delhi April 6 (IANS) Actor-producer Aamir Khan has decided against releasing his Bollywood blockbuster Dangal after the censor board in Pakistan demanded that two scenes involving the Indian flag and anthem be cut.

Mobashir Hasan Pakistan s Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) head told IANS over social media: Yes the board unanimously decided to skip two scenes.

Asked why the Indian flag and anthem needed to be cut Hasan said: The decision is the collective wisdom of the board.

He added that it was now up to the local distributor to release it or not. He said the movie s distributor in Pakistan was Geo Films.

Subsequently Aamir has decided not to release the movie in Pkistan saying the demanded cuts were crucial to the spirit of the film his spokesperson told IANS.

Dangal is a movie inspired by the real life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat who trains his daughters to become wrestling champions.

The movie was loved by Indian audiences -- proven by its whopping Rs 385 crore-plus collection in the country.

The news comes just over two months after Pakistani film exhibitors and cinema owners lifted a self-imposed ban on the screening of Indian films in the wake of heightened tensions with India over the September 2016 terror attack in Uri that left 19 Indian soldiers dead.

--IANS
rb/ahm/vt