Pakistani film Joyland, that made quite a noise for its brave portrayal of gender identity and politics, will be released in India soon. Saim Sadiq’s film that was sent as Pakistan’s official entry for Best International Feature Film for Oscars 2023 was also the first Pakistani film that secured a place at Cannes Film Festival and had also bagged the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section. But the much-talked about film has to cross a lot of hurdles since it was banned in the country for some time.
An update on the film’s official Instagram handle read, “We’re so excited to share Joyland with audiences all around the world! Catch Joyland in theatres in Spain, the UK, Switzerland, India, BeNeLux and Eastern Europe.” The same was met with a welcoming reaction from actress Sanya Malhotra who wrote, “Omg Omg Omg(with clapping hands emoji)”. One of the netizens commented, “Welcome to India, Joyland. I missed my opportunity to watch it at the film festivals. But I am so happy to be able to watch it in the theatres here!”
Joyland follows a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman. Sadiq wrote and directed the film which features an ensemble cast of Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Rasti Farooq, Salmaan Peerzada and Sohail Sameer.
When the film was banned in Pakistan, actor Sarwat Gilani had slammed the authorities for caving into pressure from “some malicious people” who are running a smear campaign against the film. In a Twitter thread she wrote, “Shameful that a Pakistani film made by 200 Pakistanis over 6 years that got standing ovations from Toronto to Cairo to Cannes is being hindered in its own country. Don’t take away this moment of pride and joy from our people! No one’s forcing anyone to watch it! So don’t force anyone to not watch it either! Pakistani viewers are smart enough to know what they want to watch or not. Let Pakistanis decide! Don’t insult their intelligence and our hard work!”
Joyland is slated to release in India on Match 10, 2023.
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