Javed Iqbal: Why Punjab government banned the release of the film about the killer of 100 children?
About 20 years ago, an incident took place in Lahore, Pakistan which shook the whole world. A man named Javed Iqbal claimed that he had killed 100 children and put their bodies in acid.
A diary written by Javed Iqbal appeared in the media in which he wrote the names and addresses of the children who were killed and gave details about the circumstances under which they were killed.
After the matter came to the notice of the media, the police launched an investigation and soon Javed Iqbal was arrested. When the case went to court, the international media also covered it. Javed Iqbal was sentenced to death and the judge ordered the execution of the convict 100 times.
But before the convict could appeal or be sentenced, Javed Iqbal and one of his accomplices died mysteriously in a Lahore jail. Police claim both committed suicide.
There were many aspects in this story of Javed Iqbal which were questioned then and still exist today. Filmmaker Abu Aliha has made a film on Javed Iqbal's life and this incident called 'Javed Iqbal: The Untold Story of a Serial Color'.
Actors Yasir Hussain and Ayesha Omar are playing the lead roles in the film. The film was cleared by censor boards in Punjab and Sindh, after which it was to be screened on Friday. However, the Punjab government has recently stopped its screening through a letter.
According to a government statement, "numerous complaints were received" regarding the film, after which it was stopped and will be reviewed. Along with Punjab, the Central Censor Board has also stopped the screening of the film.
Why was the screening of the film stopped?
According to Gul Zaman, chairman of the Central Board of Film Censors, said that after reviewing the film, it had been cleared for screening. What is it.'
He said that his exhibition has been stopped on the orders of the Federal Board. According to Gulzaman, under the Motion Pictures Ordinance, they have decided to re-review the film, which will be a full member review, meaning that 16 members will now review it instead of four.
What kind of complaints were received against the film?
Asked what kind of complaints he had received before the release of the film, the board chairman said, "These complaints are of different types, including the language and accent used in the film."
"People didn't understand the logic of complaints if they didn't see the film."
Abu Aliha, the director of the film, told the that he had approached the Lahore High Court against the Punjab government's decision to stop the release of the film. He said the government's move was "illegal" because the film had once been cleared by the censor board for release.
He said, ''If the censor board did not pass it, then the procedure was that the full member board would review it again.If he also did not pass it, then we have the right to appeal to the court.'' But here the board passed the film and immediately after that orders were issued to stop its release.
Abu Aliha said he did not understand the logic of how the government received "complaints" about the film when it was not released and the public did not see it.
"We previewed it in Karachi which was seen by a large number of critics and bloggers but since then not a single negative review has come on social media about the film," he says.
He said that he had taken special care in making the film that no criminal or murderer should be exaggerated. According to Abu Aliha, this story was from Lahore and Punjab province has the largest number of cinemas from which the film can make a profit.
He says that this is the reason why he has postponed the release of the film in other places till the release of the film in Punjab.
"It simply came to our notice then.
Actor Yasir Hussain, who played the lead role in the film, told the BBC that once it passed the censor board, the government's move to block the release of the film did not make sense.
This means that there are incompetent people sitting on the censor board who have not done a proper review before.
Yasir Hussain said that in Pakistan, there should be some freedom of speech. It was a big event that should be filmed. ''India had made a film on it before us which was very tired. It will still be available on YouTube.''
Yasir Hussain said that there should be some freedom to work in Pakistan.
Otherwise, ''only the first and last episodes of cricket and mother-in-law dramas will be shown in your cinemas.''
Discussion on social media
Most of the users on social media have expressed frustration over the non-release of the film. On Twitter, lawyer Hassan Niazi wrote, "The film was stopped just when it was about to be released. If that happened then the producers would run away.
According to another user Farzin Amin, “It is very disappointing that the government has banned Javed Iqbal film. There are negative characters in our society and those stories should be told.I was looking forward to the movie “Javed iqbal - the untold story of serial killer”
— Hassaan Niazi (@HniaziISF) January 28, 2022
Heard it’s been stopped by the censor boar that too right when it got released. If this keeps happening the producers will runaway @fawadchaudhry @ayesha_m_omar #ReleaseJavedIqbal
The film was recently premiered in Karachi and was seen by bloggers and critics of the film and drama. There are also different views on Twitter from moviegoers.
One user, Abdullah Khan, wrote, "I have seen the movie Javed Iqbal. That was great. This is the best movie after 'Khuda Ke Liye'.
Another user, Patriot in To Traitor, wrote, "Not a big fan of movies, but Javed Iqbal (film) is eagerly awaited."Banning the release of "Javed Iqbal" movie is such a disappointing move by govt. Our society has evil characters and those stories should be told too.#Javediqbal
— Farzeen Amin (@Farzeen94184757) January 28, 2022