Barbie release delayed in Pakistan over ‘objectionable content’: Report

The release of the new Hollywood hit film Barbie has been delayed in Pakistan as the country’s film certification board is waiting for clearance from the provincial board in Punjab province in the country. The Guardian reported the delay quoting a member of the Punjab film censor board. (Also read: Margot Robbie says her friends teased her for not kissing Ryan Gosling in Barbie)

Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie features Margot Robbie as ‘Stereotypical Barbie’ doll, while Ryan Gosling stars as Ken. The film was released in theatres worldwide on Friday.

Barbie screening delayed

Secretary of the Punjab film censor board Farrukh Mahmood told The Guardian, without mentioning any particular scenes, “We will review the film before its release in the country.” Another report in The Independent also quoted “local reports” and claimed that the release has been delayed over “objectionable content”.

Barbie at the box office

Barbie made a record-breaking debut at global cinemas over the weekend and earned much more than what the trade experts had speculated. The film minted ₹5 crore in India on the opening day, and the collections rose to ₹6.5 crore on Saturday. Barbie now stands at a three-day total of ₹18.50 crore in India. Barbie had a box office clash with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

About Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie also features Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Dua Lipa, Emerald Fennell, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, and Michael Cera. The film showcases stereotypical Barbie losing her charm and then travelling to the real world so that everything in her fantasy ‘Barbie Land’ can be fixed.

Barbie review

Critics have mostly appreciated the film. The Hindustan Times review of Barbie read, “The pink is a curious cover to stage a clever satire. Greta doesn’t take potshots only at Mattel, a co-producer and enabler of this adaptation, for some of its regressive business decisions, but in one scene, also aims one at the production house Warner Bros for how it mishandled the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League.”

It added, “However, at one point, the satire feels self-defeating. After the Barbies lead the Kens on by baiting them to mansplain them, they also instigate them against each other, which ends up reinforcing the stereotype that the reason men fight against each other is because of the women.”