Last week TBL was screened to the first two tiers of the Censor Board, the second being the full board comprising of all members and they unanimously concluded that given the present circumstances it would be irresponsible of them to give it the green signal. According to sources, the official reasons cited were not intolerance of the satire on Osama Bin Laden but a sense of responsibility to protect the public that could come by harm if extremist elements decided to protest it.

The Bollywood production casts Pakistan's pop star Ali Zafar in the lead role of a young and ambitious TV journalist who uses an Osama lookalike as his ticket into the United States. The film has been getting good reviews from its first screening in India; Bollywood super stars Salman Khan and Karan Johar have been generously Tweeting its praises.

That it will not be screening in Pakistan is a matter of shame. That India is supporting a Pakistani actor/musician while Pakistan does nothing but put up hurdles is even more frustrating. Earlier, Khuda Kay Liye passed the censor test despite being more controversial. Cinemas were given protection by the State. Why this gesture cannot be extended to TBL is anyone's guess.

According to Nadeem Mandviwalla, official distributor of the film in Pakistan, “An appeal has been made to the Appellent Board (the third and most influential tier of the Censor Board) and we have to hope that the Secretary Culture will give it an approval. He has the powers to do so.”

Until then, the satire will be taken to another level as pirated DVDs of the film are sure to hit stores and cable channels over the weekend. People will get to see it, just not officially in cinema houses. Sad indeed.

“We are thinking of continuing advertisements for the film,” Mandviwalla adds. “They will read 'Releasing Soon on pirated DVDs'!” — Aamna Haider Isani