Kaabil gets NOC for Pak release, Raees likely to follow suit

Karachi: Pakistan has issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the latest Bollywood film 'Kaabil', which is now set to release in the country this weekend after a four-month-long ban by the government on the screening of Indian movies, following Indo-Pak tensions.

An official of Hum Films told PTI that they were still awaiting NOC for the Shah Rukh Khan-Mahira Khan starrer 'Raees' which would also be released soon.

"We are planning to release Kaabil on Friday once we get the clearance certificate from the Central Censor Board of Film Certification as well," he said.

The NOC for 'Kaabil' was issued by the government on the recommendation of the committee formed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to look into the screening of Indian films locally, which had submitted a report to the Prime Minister's secretariat this week.

The committee headed by Minister of State for Information Maryam Aurangzeb had in its recommendations advised that the old policy that was in place before the screening of Indian films was suspended in the country should be maintained.

The suspension of the screenings of Indian films came after several Bollywood producers banned casting Pakistani artists in Indian movies in the wake of Uri terror attack and 'surgical strikes' conducted by the Indian Army on terror launch pads along the LoC in Kashmir. Nadeem Mandviwalla. a well-known cinema owner, distributor and exhibitor said the release of 'Kaabil' would officially start the process of latest Indian films being screened in Pakistan.

He said various cinema owners had suspended screening of Indian films in September last year in retaliation to the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA)'s ban on Pakistani actors, singers and technicians from working in India till "normalcy" returns.

"The cinema owners and industry suffered a lot of losses due to the suspension of Indian films screenings. But now it is getting back to normal," he added.

'Kaabil' was released in India on January 25th along with 'Raees'.

Hum Films has already purchased both films after paying advance money to distributors.

Shah Rukh Khan starer 'Raees' features Pakistani artist Mahira Khan, while Hrithik Roshan plays the lead in 'Kaabil'.