Saif: It’s a shame Pakistan has banned ‘Agent Vinod’

The ban on the upcoming film ‘Agent Vinod’ in Pakistan has disappointed actor Saif Ali Khan, who is also the co-producer of the film. Reacting to the ban, Khan said that it’s a shame because the idea is to have open films between the two nations. “It’s a shame. It’s roughly if all the people in this room went to see the film in the mall. I think it translates to about a crore, which is a lot of money. Its not out about the money, it’s a shame because the idea is to have open films between the two countries,” the actor said. “I was very proud that this was not a jingoistic film that was bashing Pakistan. In fact the heroine in our movie is playing a Pakistani girl. So we were hoping that they would appreciate that because really we can’t give them better,” he added. The film was banned because some negative elements were shown as being from Pakistan in the film, said Khan, who was accompanied by his girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor. “It’s a realistic kind of thriller in the sense that we have shown that there are some negative elements in Pakistan towards India and maybe their censors have problem with us saying that. Maybe we have shown a few people on the most wanted list being harboured in Pakistan, which surely is also a fairly known fact,” he asserted. “So, maybe they have taken offence to that. But in the end we want the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent to win and all the baddies to lose. If they are uncomfortable to that then maybe we should just publicise the fact that ‘Agent Vinod banned in Pakistan’. Which we probably should be,” he added. The censor board of Pakistan banned the film for its alleged reference to the Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).