Akshay’s ‘Oh My God’ lost at least Rs 4 crore in UAE

Akshay Kumar-starrer, OMG releasing in India today, is the latest in a not-so-short line of Hindi films to have been banned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier victims include Pankaj Kapur’s Masum, Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz3 and Sachin Yardi’s Kya super kool hai hum.

The Hindi film industry has incurred losses to the tune of a whopping Rs 20 crore in just the past one year, courtesy UAE’s actions. Similarly, the makers of OMG Oh My God were shocked to learn of the ban on Monday this week.

It is terribly depressing if the UAE censors reject your film. Since the past two years, there is a huge market for Hindi films in UAE. We are losing a lot of money. The worst part is that the Censor Board in UAE rejects your film just three to four days before the date of release. By then, we have done so much publicity and planning, and it all goes down the drain. Trade analyst Amod Mehra revealed, “Not a single Hindi film which depicts caste or religion in any way has ever released in UAE.”

It all started in July 2011 when Mausam, a love story between an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot and a Kashmiri woman was replaced at the last minute by Hollywood film Chloeat in theatres across UAE.

In August 2012, Kya Super Kool Hain Hum, got the axe in Kuwait and Muscat. This was just after the Bandra Police registered a FIR against the film for having hurt the religious sentiments of the Christian community.

This month, Raaz 3 that opened to packed houses in India, was banned in the UAE. Reason: the sexually explicit content and portrayal of the spiritual world that didn’t cut ice with the censors there.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, Especially Raaz would have fetched a lot since its lead actor Emraan Hashmi is a big favourite there. Ganpati and Kaala Jadoo in Raaz were probably the reasons why it faced the axe in UAE. I guess every country has its own set of rules.”