Pakistan distributors refuse to release Salman Khan’s Tubelight

It’s now official. Salman Khan’s Tubelight will not release in Pakistan because no local distributor is willing to come forward and release it there. Apparently, Salman’s extraordinary popularity among Pakistani audiences has proved to be a deterrent.

 “Salman has millions of fans in Pakistan and the filmmakers are in no mood to pitch their films against his. They are determined to protect the interests of their films instead.”

Sources point out that there is a huge amount of money riding on the two big local releases, one of them being Yalghaar, touted as one of Pakistan’s first ever international film, and the other being Shor Sharaba. Interestingly, Yalghaar, based on the sacrifices of the people and armed forces against terrorism, has premier shows scheduled in US, UK and China.

According to Dand, there was initial speculation that Tubelight would have a delayed release after two weeks in Pakistan but that possibility is now likely to be ruled out due to the price factor. A Salman Khan film in the Pakistan market is said to be $5 lakh, and Dand reveals that the price has become a major point of contention.

Veteran Pakistan distributor Amjad Rashi, who last released Baahubali and Hindi Medium in Pakistan, confirmed that no distributor including the regular local distributor of Yashraj, Geo Films, had come forward to acquire the film. However, he attributed it to completely different reasons.

“I am not the right person to comment but I doubt whether the film will get clearance considering the Indo-China war subject. Salman is no doubt a big star in Pakistan but the film could also face other hurdles as it reflects anti-China sentiments,” he said.  A spokesperson for Geo refused to comment, stating that there was no confirmation on whether or not the film would release in Pakistan.