Barbie playing in theatres with censored magic

LAHORE: Excitement and confusion surrounded the fate of the highly anticipated Barbie in Pakistan’s Punjab region as cinema owners suddenly resumed screenings and ticket sales on Friday evening.

The fans shared screenshots of the Universal Cinema informing customers that objections raised by the Censor Board had been resolved, allowing the film to be played and tickets to be accommodated.

According to The Express Tribune, the Punjab Film Censor Board confirmed on Saturday morning that the movie’s distributor had agreed to mute objectionable words.

Earlier, Barbie was not entirely banned in Punjab, as the Censor Board had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the film on Thursday.

Read More: Punjab delays Barbie over “objectionable content”

The board had requested the removal of four specific words before public screenings, a demand that apparently did not sit well with HKC Entertainment, the local distributors of Barbie in Pakistan.

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The controversy surrounding Barbie’s release in Punjab started on Friday morning when a tweet claimed that the Punjab Film Censor Board had withheld the NOC due to “objectionable” content.

As a result, major Lahore cinemas, including Cue Cinemas, Cine Star, and Universal Cinemas, refrained from screening the movie.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer continued to be shown at the theaters, leading to further confusion among moviegoers.