From Hrithik Roshan's Fighter to Yami Gautam's Article 370: Why these Bollywood films are banned in the gulf region

Over the years, Bollywood films have garnered popularity in the international markets, especially in the UAE. In fact, many celebs of the Indian cinema call Dubai and other Middle East countries.

The audience from these regions eagerly waits for Bollywood releases and we often see them embracing the Hindi content with open arms. The mutual love between Shah Rukh Khan and Dubai is known to every Bollywood buff. His last year blockbuster Jawan emerged as the first Indian film to cross the $16 million milestone at the UAE box office.

Right from star-studded award nights to shooting of biggies like Happy New Year, Airlift, Vikram Vedha in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other parts, the bond between Gulf-Bollywood has been full of love and admiration.

However, in recent times, we have seen films like Hrithik Roshan starrer Fighter and Yami Gautam's recent release Article 370, which was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, getting banned in the gulf. Before these films, Salman Khan's Tiger 3 and Anupam Kher's The Kashmir Files faced scrutiny.

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Reportedly, these films were not allowed to be showcased in the Gulf countries due to the portrayal of Muslims in these movies.

Director of Article 370 had reacted to this ban and told Times Now, "Frankly I was surprised with the news of the ban. Because I believe the film does not have anything that can be categorised as a content that needs to be banned. It is an honest attempt to showcase the true events that shaped the mission to abrogate Article 370. I think the audience's reaction is also a good proof of that. This film is about the triumph of truth. And how can the truth be

offensive to anyone?"