‘Barbie’ to hit cinemas after getting green light from Punjab censor board

• Full board reviews 'Barbie' on directives of interim CM Mohsin Naqvi. 
• Screening of movie stopped for its "objectionable content": minister. 
• "Barbie will soon be released in cinemas across Punjab." 

LAHORE: The Punjab Censor Board gave a green light to the screening of the blockbuster hit "Barbie" movie in cinemas across the province, Provincial Minister for Information and Culture Amir Mir said on Tuesday. 

"Barbie" is one of the most anticipated and most celebrated movies of the year so far, but not in Punjab as the government yanked the film from cinemas over supposedly “pro-LGBT” content and halted its screening right after its release.

The full board reviewed the Hollywood movie on the directives of interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Mir said. 

The minister added that screening of the movie was stopped for its "objectionable content" and was sent to the censor board which has been reviewed by the board's members including Chairman Tauqeer Nasir. 

Mir said that the full board has cleared the movie and has directed to screen the film after censoring the objectionable content. 

"The Barbie movie will soon be released in cinemas in Punjab," said the provincial minister. 

The fantasy-comedy film hit cinemas across the globe on July 21 but was recalled in Punjab on the secretary ministry of Information and Culture's directives.

Punjab’s Film Censor Board Secretary Rehan S Khan had denied any such content in the film. “Yes there was objectionable material which was excised by the board, but none expressing homosexuality,” he had told Geo Fact Check.

The world is abuzz with "Barbie" fever since the release of the movie about the iconic doll, as the theatres and cinemas everywhere are full of moviegoers, all dressed in pink.

The Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Ryan Gosling (Ken) starrer showed no signs of slowing down in its second weekend at the box office as it has made more than $351 million in the US and Canada since opening on July 21, and nearly $775 million globally.