Islamabad, Feb 20: The Bollywood flick Welcome has run into trouble in Pakistan because of some allegedly "obscene" scenes featuring Mallika Sherawat.
Welcome was released last Friday and was seen as an example of the Pakistan government's softening stance towards a long-standing ban on Indian films.
Pakistan's censor board has now reportedly objected to some shots featuring Sherawat, who is no stranger to controversy.
The film's release on this side of the border came days after a Pakistan Senate standing committee on culture recommended to the government that the exhibition of Indian films should be allowed under a proper censorship policy and the ban imposed in 1965 should be lifted.
Pakistan Cinema Owners' Association secretary general Safdar Khan said the censor board has handed over the censored version of the film to cinemas.
Cinema owners have been warned of strict action if they continue to show the uncensored version.
Jamshed Zafar, acting chairman of the Pakistan Film Distributors Association, said the audience has rejected the film's censored version.
Some scenes with Feroz Khan have also been reportedly cut because of the actor's anti-Pakistan rhetoric when he was in Pakistan in April last year.
Interestingly, Sherawat, the queen of item numbers, has for the first time in her career been shot aesthetically and does not look vulgar. In fact, some cinema-goers contend that Pakistani actresses are more vulgar than Sherawat.
Bureau Report
