'Laden' dropped from 'Tere Bin Laden' in Pakistan

Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Debutant director Abhishek Sharma has dropped the word "Laden" from his forthcoming film "Tere Bin Laden" for its Pakistan release as a "precautionary measure".

"Tere Bin Laden" is a tongue-in-cheek satire on Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"The word has been dropped as a precautionary measure, owing to ongoing tensions in Pakistan. We have allowed the distributors to use "Tere Bin" as the title. But it's only in Pakistan, otherwise everywhere it's 'Tere Bin Laden," Abhishek told IANS.

Abhiskek has given full freedom to the Pakistani distributors about whether to use posters of the movie with or without Laden.

"The distributors will decide. We have sent all the options, posters with and without Laden. They have to take the final call as they know the situation better. We will completely respect their judgment."

"Tere Bin Laden" tells the story of an ambitious young reporter, played by Pakistani singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar, desperate to migrate to the US to pursue his dreams. Debutant actor Pradhuman Singh plays the role of Osama Bin Laden.

However, it is still not clear whether the movie would release in Pakistan or not.

"All Bollywood films go to the Pakistani censor board only in the week of its release, it never happens in advance. It usually goes on Mondays or Tuesdays. We'll have to do the same. Until the censor board officially approves the film, you cannot say whether the film is releasing," Abhishek said.

To catch a wider spectrum of the audience, Abhishek plans to release the film in the US after a gap of few months.

"We are releasing the film in the US, only in Phase 2. We'll first release it in India, Pakistan, UK, Australia and other NRI markets and then go to America after a gap of few months. If we release it in the NRI markets now, it will get branded as a NRI film.

"We want to go as wide as possible in America, rather than limiting ourselves to NRI theatres. It's a different strategy. With this concept, we give the film a chance to reach the non-Indian audience," the director added.

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Tere Bin Laden