The award winning and critically acclaimed Pakistani film Joyland has been approved for national release post review from the censor board.
Joyland, a film depicting a love story between a married man and a transgender woman was under intense scrutiny and despite getting the green signal in August 2022, it was banned a few days ago despite a planned release for November 18t. This brought on an onslaught of criticism.
Consequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a committee to investigate what the issues were.
Directed by Saim Sadiq and with producers including Malala and Sarmad Khoosat, Joyland won the Jury Prize at Cannes amongst other global awards. It also premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and the American Film Institute Festival and also won several global awards.
Thumbs up! Suggest everyone to watch such watershed movies with an open mind and reserve judgement until you have watched it in its entirety. It’s a piece of artistic work and meant to stimulate reflection and deeper understanding of human society. I grew up in Lahore and among all the characters played in this movie. Nothing special about it. It was just taken as life in the old city.