Dangal Ban in Pakistan: Weeks After Aamir Khan Reveals Why Film Wasn't Released, Pakistani Minister Regrets Her Decision

In a rare moment of cross-border corroboration, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and Pakistani minister Maryam Aurangzeb have found themselves telling the same story -- almost at the same time eight years later. Just weeks after, Aamir  Khan shared on 'Aap Ki Adalat' show that he refused to release Dangal in Pakistan due to demands raised by Pakistan to remove certain parts of the movie which showed the Indian flag and singing of the national anthem. Pakistan the then Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb has now publicly admitted that banning the film during her tenure as Pakistan’s Information Minister was a mistake and even when she hadn’t seen the film at the time.

Maryam Aurangzeb, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and current minister in Punjab, confessed that banning Dangal as Federal Information Minister in 2017 was one of her biggest regrets. ''Yes, if there is one regret that I have when I was the Federal Information Minister, it was banning the screening of Dangal in Pakistan,'' she said.

According to her, the decision was made in her very first meeting with the censor board and information ministry officials of Pakistan. ''They recommended a ban on screening of the film giving some reasons for this,'' she recalled, though she now feels the justifications lacked depth. More than a year later, when she finally saw Dangal, her perspective shifted. ''It was a film which was inspirational for our girls and was close to home,'' she added.

Around the same time, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan had taken a strong stand against altering the film for release in Pakistan. During his appearance on Aap Ki Adalat, Aamir revealed that the Pakistan censor board wanted two scenes removed: one in which the Indian tricolour is hoisted and another where the national anthem plays after wrestler Geeta Phogat's victory. ''They said remove these scenes or we won't pass the film,'' Aamir said.

''I said, Jo hamse kahega hamara Indian flag nikal do aur hamara national anthem nikal do, unse mujhe matlab hi nahi hai.'' ''I told Disney in just one second that our film will not be released in Pakistan. I said, anyone who tells us to remove our Indian flag and national anthem, then I have nothing to do with them. I don't want that business,'' Aamir had firmly stated.

At the time, Pakistani distributors were keen to release the film and had approached Aamir Khan. While he was initially open to the idea, the demand to censor patriotic scenes made him angry. A source close to the production noted, ''It's a sports-based biopic with no direct or indirect reference to Pakistan. The film only highlights India's nationalistic sentiment, so what is the reason to delete those scenes?''

The revelation has reignited cross-border conversations around censorship and cinema. Pakistani minister Maryam Aurangzeb though now may regret but the loss that the Pakistan suffered because of the ban is a matter of past and Aamir Khan's admission not to release the film in Pakistan after the said demand of censorship by removing the Indian flag and national anthem from key scenes further strengthens his claim of being extremely sentimental in matters related to the nation.

Dangal is based on the real-life story of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters, Geeta and Babita. It became a huge hit and Amir got a lot of praise for the film. It earned more than ₹385 crore in India and more than ₹2,000 crore worldwide. The film became extremely popular in China too. While its absence in Pakistani cinemas may have cost the film ₹10–12 crore in revenue, Aamir Khan stood by his decision, sending a strong message that neither patriotism nor cinematic integrity was negotiable and at the same time silencing others who often claim that Aamir Khan is not honest in his approach.

Between 2008 and 2019, Bollywood films enjoyed wide viewership in Pakistan. But after the Uri attacks in 2016 and deteriorating diplomatic ties, the theater owners put a ban on Indian films in Pakistan. But following the ban Pakistani audiences stopped going to the theatres altogether and so the box office collection of local Pakistani films also took a nosedive in Pakistan.

 

Miss Maryam's recent admission adds a new layer to the story -- highlighting how political decisions made in haste can have long-lasting cultural impact. It also indirectly validates Aamir Khan's principled stand of not going for a compromise which comes at the cost of national sentiment and Pakistan eventually had to admit its mistake after suffering cultural and economic losses which could have been avoided.

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