Vijay-starrer Beast banned in this country for ‘portrayal of Pakistan’, say reports – NewsEverything | Business

Kuwait has banned Tamil film Beast, starring Vijay, reports suggest. One of the most-awaited films of the year, the film dropped its first trailer on Saturday. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala said the film, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, was banned by Kuwait’s Ministry of Information. In a tweet from his verified account, Bala speculated that the film’s portrayal of Pakistan and scenes depicting Islamists as terrorists could be the reason behind it being banned. He also mentioned that Kuwait had also banned Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup and Vishnu Vishal’s FIR in recent months.

Beast follows Vijay’s character inside a mall when terrorists hold mallgoers hostage. He kills with swords and guns, establishing it to be a violent action film. The trailer also shows a glimpse of Pooja Hegde.

Vijay has a huge following in Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East, which is home to millions of expats from south India and the ban could severely dent the film’s global box office collections. However, Beast has already been cleared to release in other Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.

The reported ban by Kuwait has also raised fear of other countries following suit, especially due to the portrayal of Islamic terrorism. Malaysia, which has a history of banning or imposing restrictions on India-made films, could follow Kuwait’s lead and ban Beast, reports suggest.

Malaysia had earlier banned Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam following its release. The film’s screening was stopped immediately with the authorities citing the depiction of Islamists as extremists as the reason for the ban.