The Neeraj Pandey directed film has finally hit the screens in India today after several date changes to avoid clashes with other big-budget films. Aiyaary has failed to get a clearance for release in Pakistan.
The film Aiyaary deals with the Indian Army and has rubbed Pakistan the wrong way. Given that Aiyaary has a patriotic tune to it, it is only one among the many similar films to be banned in Pakistan in the last few years. Neeraj Pandey’s films Baby and Naam Shabana, and Kabir Khan’s Phantom are the more notable ones that did not see a release in Pakistan.
After Baby and Naam Shabana, this is the third Neeraj Pandey film that has failed to get a clearance in Pakistan. Aiyaary, meanwhile, is in theatres today. The film was initially supposed to release on January 26. But January 25 was the initial release date of Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man. Aiyaary was moved to February 9 after Sanjay Leela Bhansali announced that his Padmaavat was also released on January 25. Then Akshay Kumar changed the release date of Pad Man to February 9 to make way for Padmaavat, leaving Aiyaary in a quandary yet again. The film got in trouble with the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) in India too, when the censor board asked the makers of Aiyaary to get a clearance from the Ministry of Defence first.
Then, a special screening was arranged for the Defence Ministry, who asked for a few changes in the film. Once that was done, the censor board finally gave Aiyaary a certificate on February 6, just 10 days before its release date.
Director Neeraj Pandey shared a photo of the censor certificate on Twitter. Aiyaary stars Manoj Bajpayee, Sidharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Kumud Mishra, Adil Hussain and Vikram Gokhale in the lead roles.
Film Aiyaary has seen many ups and downs. Hope this film lives up to the expectations of the viewers and place itself in the list of blockbuster films. Good luck to the team of Aiyaary! Read another article, Low Budget Bollywood Films That Made A Hit Without A Superstar.
