Over the past weekend, there was a sudden and unexpected turn of events in the Punjab cinema scene. After facing controversy and alleged objections from the Punjab Film Censor Board, the highly anticipated Barbie film found itself back on the screens. Cinema owners in Punjab began opening shows and selling tickets for the movie once again.
It seemed as though the allure of Barbie’s flamboyance and Robbie’s charm had left them mesmerized, rendering them silent as if under a spell. Nevertheless, after persistent probing on Saturday morning, a member of the Punjab Film Censor Board finally revealed the reason behind the turnaround.
According to an insider, the film’s distributor ultimately agreed to make changes to the movie by muting specific words deemed objectionable by the board. These words were alleged to be promoting homosexuality, and their removal was the condition for allowing the film to be screened publicly.
Earlier reports suggesting that Barbie was outright “banned” in Punjab were refuted. In fact, the Punjab Film Censor Board issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the film on Thursday, but with the condition that certain words be censored before its public release. This demand did not sit well with HKC Entertainment, the local distributor of Barbie in Pakistan.
The controversy first gained momentum on Friday morning, when a tweet claimed that the Punjab Film Censor Board withheld the NOC due to “objectionable” content related to LGBTQ themes. This tweet quickly circulated on Twitter, sparking widespread discussions and speculations about the film’s fate. It was reported that the NOC would only be granted once the alleged “objectionable” content was removed from the movie.
A Google search further fueled the speculations, as major Lahore cinemas, including Cue Cinemas, Cine Star, and Universal Cinemas, were not screening the Barbie film. Instead, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was being shown in these theatres, leading to confusion and questions among moviegoers about the sudden absence of the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starrer.
On a positive note, the Barbie film continued to run successfully in Sindh and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) without any editing or cuts. The contrasting situations in different regions added to the complexity of the situation and raised discussions about censorship and artistic expression.
