Parmanu – The Story Of Pokhran, a Bollywood movie on India’s nuclear test in 1998, will release across 300 screens in Pakistan, director Abhishek Sharma said on Friday.
Asked if the movie will release in Pakistan, Sharma told the media, “We will be releasing in 300 screens in Pakistan and I think that says it all.”
Actor-producer John Abraham, who was also present during the media interaction, insisted that “it is not an anti-Pakistan film in any way”.
John said, “Yes, we are (releasing the movie in Pakistan). This is not an anti-Pakistan film, it is a pro-India film. So, from the beginning we were very clear that it is a film about India and we want to celebrate the story. If we start thinking about other markets, then we will be compromising on our film. Our intention was to tell the story and we do not want to deviate from that.”
Recently, the Alia Bhatt starrer, Raazi was banned from screening in Pakistan due to its controversial content. No distributor agreed to purchase the film and a senior distribution company official commented, “It is disappointing to see that films on controversial subjects are being produced in India time and again.”
In the film, Alia was essaying the role of an undercover spy, who crossed the border in 1971 after she marries a Pakistani military officer named Iqbal to extract classified information. The film was based on the book, Calling Sehmat, supposedly inspired by real-life events.
However, Vicky Kaushal who played the role of Alia’s husband in the film had earlier commented that “The film is not just about the Indo-Pak war, it is much deeper than that. It is about an individual relationship.”
Written by Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla, Parmanu also features Diana Penty, Boman Irani and Yogendra Tikku and is scheduled to release on May 25.
