Rishi Kapoor-Taapsee Pannu starrer Mulk, which tackles religious discrimination and tells the story of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honour has reportedly been banned from release by the Federal Censor Board of Pakistan.
The film’s producer Deepal Mukut in a statement said, “We are disturbed by this prejudiced verdict and it’s such an irony because our film talks about this very prejudice. We urge the Pakistani Censor Board to reconsider their decision. They will realise how essential it is to the well-being of the human race across the world.”
The film’s director, Anubhav Sinha, also expressed his disappointment in a “letter to Pakistan” in which he questioned why a film which spreads the message of coexistence has been banned from being screened. In his note, he requested all Pakistanis to watch the film “illegally,” but to watch it because the spreads the message of love and peace.
A letter to Pakistan. Sorry a question really!!! #MULK in Theaters tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Ak1MogByWK
— Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) August 2, 2018
Mulk centres around a family whose member is allegedly involved in a terror plot which leads to them outcasts overnight in the society and the country. The cast and crew of the film have been trolled for the venture being ‘pro-Muslim’, saying it has been funded by Dawood Ibrahim.
Rishi Kapoor plays the family’s patriarch who approaches a court to fight this prejudice and is represented by his daughter-in-law, played by Taapsee Pannu. Taapsee plays a Hindu girl who is married into the family. The two fight to restore the name of their family and break the label that has led to them losing everything.
Speaking about the film and its subject, the lead actor, Kapoor, had earlier said, “The film offers an inner truth. Mulk, by itself, doesn’t mean only nation or country to me. It denotes the consciousness of the people.”
He continued, “Mulk is based on true events. It’s the story of a family that is fighting to establish its integrity after an insinuation has been made against them. The family used to enjoy the respect of the neighbourhood but the attitude of the neighbours changed overnight after the allegation. Now, they have to fight to get rid of the terrorist label.”
Meanwhile, Taapsee Pannu, in an interview said, Mulk presents “true patriotism and nationalism” and those who are having problems with it need to have an open mind. She added that the film has not “criticised any community, and neither have we said any community is good or bad. We have just shown the true picture and left it to the audience to make the choice.”
She continued, “There has been a lot of prejudice around beliefs about communities and religion, (and also) caste, for that matter. In this film, we deal with those prejudices and how they are wrong and how this conditioning has been done to our minds over all these years and to the benefit of certain people.”
“Mulk is going to question that logic — and where did it start and why did it start and the need to change it immediately,” said the actor.
The film which also stars Prateik Babbar, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana and Neena Gupta opened to good reviews from the public and critics.