With churning out a ton of movies every year, the Bollywood industry has successfully established its supremacy on the global level. The craze of the Hindi movie among the foreign audience is so high that some Bollywood movies earned more abroad than they earned in India. While some countries absolutely love Hindi cinema and pay big to let filmmakers release their movies in their country, there are some countries, which have banned Bollywood movies. Some were banned due to supposed obscenity while some were denied screening for being too progressive. Here is a list of the top 10 Bollywood movies that are banned in other countries:
1. Padman (Pakistan): Akshay Kumar starrer Padman did exceptionally great on the box office and garnered global recognization. But because of its storyline revolving around mensuration, it was not welcomed in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Federal Censor Board banned the film by saying R Balki's film was against their culture and traditions.
2. Oh My God (UAE): It is very rare that we see a Bollywood movie talking about religion and Dharam Gurus but Paresh Rawal’s Oh My God did it pretty boldly and asked genuine questions over religious fanaticism but ended up getting banned from UAE.
3. The Dirty Picture (Kuwait): Based on the real-life story of Silk Smitha who ended her life while battling depression, The Dirty Picture not just exposed the dirty business of the cinema world but also garnered applauds from the audience and critics but it seems like Kuwait doesn’t like Vidya Balan’s bold movie and that’s banned it from screening in the country.
4. Padmavat (Malaysia): Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavat not just created controversies in India but also fall in a stir in Malaysia. The film was banned by the country’s censor board saying the way the movie portrayed the Muslim religion is not appropriate for the audience.
5. Neerja (Pakistan): Sonam Kapoor gave one of her career-best performances to date with the film 'Neerja', based on the life of air hostess Neerja Bhanot, sadly her fans in Pakistan didn't get to see the film. 'Neerja' was added to the growing list of Indian films banned in the neighboring country, simply because it showed Pakistan in a bad light.
6. Delhi Belly (Nepal): Even though the movie got cult status, the content of the movie was too bold for the audience and it made the Nepal censor board ban Delhi belly from stepping in the nation. Within two days of its release, the film was banned as the 'obscene' portions were not deleted.
7. Fiza (Malaysia): The Hrithik Roshan and Karisma Kapoor starrer courted controversy at the time of its release on home soil and abroad. The film saw Hrithik play the role of a middle-class Muslim man who becomes a militant. This plot didn't sit too well with the Malaysian Government officials who banned the film and said in a statement, "A Muslim cannot be a terrorist."
8. Baby (Pakistan): It seems like Pakistan has something with Akshay Kumar, that’s why his another movie got banned from the screen in the nation. The Pakistan censor board banned the film because it apparently showed Pakistan in poor light.
9. Bombay (Singapore): 'Bombay' the critically acclaimed Mani Ratnam directorial will always be one of the finest films of Indian cinema. The film that centered around the events that led to the Bombay (now Mumbai) riots of 1992-1993, saw a tough time during its release. Apart from the violent incidents that took place at the time of its release in India, the film was banned by the Singapore government, citing the 'religious tensions'.
10. Udta Punjab: Another movie with the story around Pakistan another ban from the Pakistani Censor board. The movie hurt the nation's sentiments with its very first scene. In the opening of the movie, the youngsters of Punjab were seen taking cocaine that was supplied by the neighbors which were Pakistanis.
