Pakistan's Oscar-nominated film Joyland was cleared by the Censor Board and was slated to release on November 18. But a few days ago, the information ministry suddenly canceled the censor certificate issued to the film saying that it contained 'highly objectionable content. The film won an award at the world's biggest film festival 'Cannes' in May and was well received globally. By the way, only a few people in Pakistan would have seen it, but a large number of people are active on social media both in support and against its release. In this case, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had to act and announced the formation of a committee to investigate the complaints against the film Joyland which will examine whether the film violates social and moral values. Not against. Joyland director Salem Sadiq has termed this 'sudden Uterine' of the Ministry of Information as 'unconstitutional and illegal. Meanwhile, according to the announcement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, after receiving complaints against Fam Joy Lead, an eight-member committee has been formed under the supervision of the Law Minister, which includes the Minister of Information, Minister of Communication, Minister of Investment, Ministry of Information Technology, Advisor to Prime Minister on Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs, Chairman PTA and Chairman PEMRA will also join.
The committee has been directed to submit its recommendations by Tuesday, November 15.
The hero's name is Haider, we have an objection to that too.
Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, who objected to the role of a transgender in Joyland, has revealed that he has not seen the film but believes that it mainly promotes LGBTQ (homosexuality) culture. Made to give. Speaking to BBC Urdu, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad says that this is cultural terrorism and because of it, 'our values, traditions and family system, the institution of marriage and marriage, are all against it.' On the question of why he has not seen the film yet and why he is against it, he says, "See the film, you haven't seen it, I haven't seen it either, nobody has seen it." The film was to be released on November 18. Only the trailer of the film was released but there was confirmed information about the film that it was awarded in the LGBTQ category at Cannes. It should be noted that Joyland won the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival and there is no LGBTQ category at the event. Senator Mushtaq adds that "Now you know that LGBTQ is rejected not only by Pakistan but also by the OIC as a whole, so it is very clear that it is against our values." He says that the story of this film which has been reported in the media from reliable sources has the name of the hero as Haider, we have an objection to this too. One made Haider the hero and then made his love affair with a trans woman the focal point. The name of the trans woman is Biba. Biba you know he is a man but he is not satisfied with his gender and changes his gender. So this is the central story of a love affair between a man and a man. That is why it is a declaration of war against our values and traditions. However, the story of the film, as given in the trailer and synopsis, is about how a young man falls in love with a trans woman. But Senator Mushtaq claims that there is a difference between eunuch and transgender. Transgender is a western term. Which means a person who has a reproductive system is physically fine. But is not satisfied with his gender due to his gender dysphoria or psychological disorder.
They will set fire to the cinema in which this film was shown.
Senator Mushtaq raised his voice on the Senate floor on Joyland. It also appealed to the Federal Shariat Court and the government has banned its screening for now.
Chairman Central Board of Film Censors Muhammad Tahir says that Senator Mushtaq Ahmed started the campaign and that this film has been made to support the transgender bill the government.
We have received similar complaints from many quarters that you are resorting to films to implement the Transgender Act."
He further said that 'threats were coming that we will set fire to the cinema where this film was released. Then it was said that transgenders will be killed, so in this situation, we withdrew the permission.
Muhammad Tahir has admitted that 'there is nothing in the film' as claimed by Senator Mushtaq and other religious circles.
Sayem Sadiq, writer, and director of Joyland, says that he has not been heard.
He said that 'from the point of view of the constitution, once the Censor Board has given permission to present the film, the ministry cannot suddenly give notice. They have to listen to our position once before doing so. They should have given us a hearing which was our legal right and we were not given that by the Ministry of Information.
According to Saim, the legal status of the Central Board of Film Censors is only up to the federal and the cities under its limits, i.e. Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and Balochistan.
But they also bypassed the powers given to the provinces under the 18th Amendment and as a pressure tactic, issued notices to the Punjab and Sindh Censor Boards to follow suit. We have done everything according to the law, but the ministry has done an illegal thing.
Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has opined that such a campaign against a film "puts a weak minister under pressure" and most of the decision-makers are "those who don't even know what a film is".
'It's a problem of timing'
Chairman Central Board of Film Censors Muhammad Tahir says transgenders were in danger. They are already living in so much difficulty, so we thought that God willing, there should be no abuse against them. This was done as a precautionary measure.
He added that there is also a problem with timing. ’ (i.e.) at what time it is being released. If the same film had come six months ago or six months later, this would not have happened. Right to business is everyone's right and we cannot exploit transgender people.
Joyland movie which earned a name in the world before its release in Pakistan
It should be noted that Pakistani director, writer, and actor Saim Sadiq's movie Joyland is based on the life of a eunuch, which is produced by Sarmad Khost and Apurva Charan.
It depicts the burgeoning relationship between a working-class Lahore man and a khawajsara (transgender). Sarwat Geelani, Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Sana Jaffrey, Aleena Khan, and other actors acted in the film.
The film gained international recognition when it was nominated for the Oscars by Pakistan and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Remember that the 'Jury Prize in Certain Regard' is recognized as the second major award of this film festival.
The story belongs to our people, which we have made. While there is opposition to Joyland on social media, many social and showbiz personalities are openly supporting it.
Filmmaker Jami Azad requested the authorities to release Joyland and said, "It is a great honor for Pakistan that a film has gone so far."
The Oscar race is also going quite well. Went to Cannes, and went to TIFF. Trans people are an integral part of our society. We should not fear any human being. Just as mullahs are an integral part of our society they play a positive role and also play a negative role.
But we endure. We did not say to throw them out. Ban them.
Former senator of the People's Party Farhatullah Babar said that the decision to withdraw the certification of the film Joyland a few days before its scheduled release is wrong.
It is self-reflexive to appease the self-styled moral brigade. It violates producers' freedom of expression and people's right to choose. Please withdraw this decision.
Pakistan's famous actor and producer Humayun Saeed, who recently worked in Netflix's popular series 'The Crown', wrote in his tweet that 'Joyland became Pakistan's first South Asian film to win the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. What is raised with pride?
This is the story of our people, for our people, by our people. Hopefully, it will be made accessible to those people."
Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and author, writes that 'the censorship of Joyland is senseless. Pakistan is full of artists, filmmakers, and writers and has a cultural wealth and more importantly bravery that the world admires. A smart state will celebrate and promote it. That she will silence and threaten.'
Our decision-makers are still treating Pakistanis like children," writes Nida Kirmani, a professor at Limz and a social activist. They are depriving us of art and culture under the guise of morality.
Pakistani actress Sarwat Geelani says that there is a campaign going on against the film Joyland, which made history for Pakistani cinema. It was cleared by all the censor boards but now the authorities are coming under pressure from some malicious people who have not even seen the film.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the government's decision to withdraw Joyland's certification.
He termed this act as transphobic and said in his statement that this order was also a violation of the right of freedom of expression of the film producers.
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