'Kukri' acquires censor board clearance, set to release on May 19

A Pakistani film based on the notorious serial killer, Javed Iqbal, Kukri will finally see the light of the day after many censor board rejections and name changes. In a surprising turn of events, the director Abu Aleeha excitedly shared that he resubmitted the film to the Censor Board and received a go-ahead. Aleeha also stated that he made necessary edits so that the film is appropriate for cinematic release.

"The Almighty has been mighty kind to me this Ramazan," the director shared on Instagram.

"The censor board has cleared the film on Javed Iqbal and we have renamed it to Kukri. The film will release on May 19. Congratulations to the entire team," he added.

The film features Ayesha Omar and Yasir Hussain in pivotal roles.

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In a previous statement to a local publication, Aleeha said that the new name, Kukri, is based on the murderer's unusual way of sitting.

"In this regard, they watched the film, previewed it again, and they suggested that we change the name of the film from Javed Iqbal, given that it may seem like we’re glorifying the character. The second thing is that when the film ends if we could give a message from our side about why we actually wanted to make this film. We’ve been saying this in all interviews, our goal was never to glorify Javed Iqbal or his crimes," Aleeha clarified.

Talking about the hurdles faced by the team in the film's release, Aleeha shared, "We tried to independently release our film Javed Iqbal last time. We didn’t have a proper distributor. Once we received the censor certificate, the way it was returned, a lot has already been written about that."

"Keeping that in mind, we have now joined hands with Eveready Pictures, a very credible distributor in Pakistan, and will resubmit Javed Iqbal through them. We submitted a request to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the federal censor board to review the film again and whatever changes they want to make, we’re agreeable, if they give us the permission to play this in cinemas," he added.