Malaysia Bans Controversial Indian Film ‘Padmaavat’

Controversial Bollywood movie ‘Padmaavat’, earlier titled ‘Padmavati’, which has released in India after a struggle, is now barred from opening in cinemas in Malaysia over concerns regarding “sensitivities of Islam”. Malaysia’s National Film Censorship Board (LPF) has barred filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s ‘Padmaavat’ from getting released in the country.

Malaysia‘s film censorship board (LPF) chairman said the film’s storyline is our concern as “Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country”. Malaysia has a history of banning movies that are widely distributed elsewhere in the world. The distributor in Malaysia is expected to appeal against the LPF decision on Tuesday.

The chairman of National Film Censorship Board Mohd Zamberi Abdul Aziz has said the lavishly-mounted film was not cleared as it might offend the Muslims in the country.

“The storyline of the film touches on the sensitivities of Islam. That in itself is a matter of grave concern in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country,” Aziz was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

The film faced controversy at home as well after various Rajput groups accused Bhansali of “distorting historical facts” with the portrayal of queen Padmavati, a claim repeatedly denied by him.

According to the report, Aziz said the distributors of the film had filed an appeal against the ban which would be taken up by the Film Appeals Committee on January 30.

In Pakistan, the censor board had cleared film without any cuts for screening with a ‘U’ certification.

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