New Delhi: A preview of a documentary, Behind Closed Doors, that promises to blow open the lid on the purported illegal financial operations of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his family has Pakistanis in a tizzy. Even Netflix was drawn into the spectacle after several politicians and celebrities incorrectly tweeted the trailer claiming that it was produced by the streaming platform.
It spread like wildfire. On 17 October 2022, multiple posts of the trailer — which had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times – claimed that it was “an upcoming Netflix” series. It received over 2,80,000 views.
Finally, a spokesperson for the US-based OTT platform set the record straight and said that Netlflix was not involved in the production. It has been independently made by Michael Oswald and Murtaza Mehdi.
But that has not diminished interest in the documentary. Audiences are eagerly waiting for more revelations on the Sharif family.
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Peddling trailer as an attack
The 1:43 second trailer, which shifts from London, where Nawaz Sharif lives in exile, to Pakistan, features Imran Khan as well. “When you look at the laws.. I’m talking about the richer countries as a whole, they tend to favour the crooks,” says the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief.
From fake bank accounts to money laundering and various crimes, the documentary says it will cover it all.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, former PM Imran Khan’s then advisor Shahzad Akbar, and journalist Irfan Hashmi are also reportedly featured in the documentary.
The trailer opens with Kenyan journalist John-Allan Namu talking about different rules for the elite. “How it has been described is that there has been one rule for the elite, especially the elite that is connected to power and another for everybody else, I think I will leave it at that,” he says.
Social media reactions ranged from citizens venting on corruption in Pakistan to Opposition party members targeting Shebhaz Sharif and his family.
PTI supporters and several journalists are peddling the trailer as an attack on the Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif governments for the widespread corruption during their terms.
News Anchor Shiffa Yousafzai, too shared the trailer of the documentary on Twitter and wrote, “A moment of pride for all those who justified corruption in recent times. Netflix series on corruption coming soon!”
Another user tweeted: Can’t wait for this much awaited documentary about the corruption of the elite. Congratulations Shareef family you have successfully made the cut! #BehindClosedDoors
Supporters of Shehbaz Sharif were quick to retaliate. Several others claim that the documentary has been sponsored by Imran Khan-led PTI. A Pakistani Twitter user wrote below a tweet by Fawad Hussain praising the documentary: “Paid documentary sponsored by @PTIofficial Can this documentary be used as proof against Shahbaz Sharif in courts??”
(Edited by Tarannum Khan)