‘Don’t normalize wrongdoings’: Celebrities demand ban on Joyland

Many Pakistani celebrities have supported the ban on Academy Award winner Joyland, directed by Saim Sadiq.

It started with the Pakistani fashion designer Maria B (Maria Butt) who demanded a ban on the movie, saying it defies the social values of Islam and Pakistan.

After her Instgaram stories went viral, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) took notice of it, and put a ban on Pakistan’s this year Oscar nomination.

Some other celebrities, including Feroze Khan and Sanam Chauhdry lauded the movie’s ban and supported Maria B’s stance.

Taking to his Twitter, the Khaani actor appreciated Butt and took a dig at people who are supporting the release of Joyland.

He wrote, “Maria B’s mindset – Is like Rolls Royce 100 year road life while “other” you know who are like those rotten scooties.”

Another Pakistani celebrity, Sanam Chauhdry, who left showbiz to follow the religious path wants the movie to be banned.

In a series of Instagram stories she shared her views on queer culture and homosexuality.

In one of the stories, she shared a quote saying, “If the Quran says it’s haram, your opinion doesn’t matter.”

In her next story, she shared a “Youth Club PK’s” video calling out people who support homosexuality.

She captioned the video, “O Muslim, don’t support LGBTQ. Don’t normalize wrongdoings.”

Check out Chauhdry’s stories.

The government on Wednesday allowed the movie to release in nationwide cinemas. SAPM Salman Sufi shared this in a tweet after the board scrutinize the movie’s content despite opposition from different factions of society.

However, the Punjab government on Thursday decided to retain its ban on the public display of the award-winning, queer-themed movie, Joyland.