Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan is a rage across the world — and Pakistan too. Desperate to catch a glimpse of the megastar making a comeback after four years, Pakistanis will reportedly be watching illegal screenings of the movie this weekend. Pathaan will be screened in commercial areas at Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority, according to Dawn.
Fireworks Events is reportedly organising the screening and posted an advertisement on Facebook selling tickets worth PKR 900 each. While the post has now been deleted, Dawn mentioned that the tickets were sold out for Saturday. The demand is so high that two extra shows — from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm and 8 pm to 11 pm — have been added for Sunday, the report said.
The Sindh Board of Film Censors has taken umbrage over this planned illegal screening. Chairperson Khalid Bin Shaheen told the Daily National Courier that if these legal lines are crossed, the organisers will face “dire consequences”. The board called for the screening to be cancelled immediately on the grounds that it was in violation of provisions of Section 4 (10) of the Sindh Motion Pictures Act 2011. If identified and found guilty, the organisers may be looking at jail time.
Sindh govt imposed ban on screening Shahruk Khan film Pathan in karachi. pic.twitter.com/DtUbvn9ID0
— tahir hasan khan (@tahirhasankhan) February 1, 2023
Many Pakistanis have criticised the screening, while others accused the Shehbaz Sharif government of being negligent about the illegal screening, given that the reported location is the DHA grounds.
Interesting how this is happening in DHA Karachi. Some are above the law?https://t.co/umjX89q1zP
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) February 1, 2023
Despite not being officially released in Pakistan, Pathaan, the new Indian blockbuster movie breaking box office records in the neighbouring country is being screened illegally in Karachi, that too, in Defence Housing Authority.#Pathaan pic.twitter.com/JIl2MBhhjd
— Abdul Aziz – Noman (@nomanaziz83) February 1, 2023
Ghost company
The Dawn report revealed that the organisers have planned screenings in other locations as well, which is not disclosed as yet.
Moreover, when the Dawn reporter called the number given on Facebook to inquire about bookings, a ‘young female voice’ with a fake American accent stated that Sunday’s screenings were preponed to Friday.
When asked about the print quality, the voice stated that it was “not HD but really good and clear”.