Kuwait bans Tamil film ‘Beast’ over anti-Pakistan Sentiments

Vijay Chandrasekhar’s upcoming film, Beast, has been banned in Pakistan for allegedly portraying Muslims as terrorists.

Trade analyst Ramesh Bala reported that the Nelson Dilipkumar directorial was banned by Kuwait’s Ministry of Information, however, its government has not disclosed a reason behind the ban.

Critics have speculated that the decision hails from the film’s “portrayal of Muslims” and its “anti-Pakistan sentiments.”

According to Bollywood Hungama, a source revealed that: “Vijay’s character in Beast gets into a conflict with a high official of Pakistan.

“The censors in Kuwait were not happy with the propagation of anti-Pakistan sentiments by the makers.

“Since the sequence is crucial in the film, there was no way that it could be edited out.

“As a result, the Ministry of Information in the middle eastern country decided to not allow Beast a release.”

However, the action-thriller has been cleared to release in UAE and other Arab countries.

Beast’s trailer dropped online on April 2, 2022.

The film follows Vijay’s character, who is inside a mall, as terrorists hold the mall-goers as hostages.

Veera Raghavan, who is played by Vijay, is also trapped inside the shopping centre but decides to save the hostages by taking on the terrorists.

The trailer then shows the protagonist’s heroics, ruthlessly taking out the terrorists.

Viewers also seemingly caught a glimpse of Shine Tom Chacko’s character as he is reported to play the masked man seen in the trailer.

The film also stars the likes of Pooja Hegde, Selvaraghavan and Yogi Babu.

The high-octane action sequences and the thrilling plot has excited fans.

The Hindi-dubbed version of Beast will also be released in cinemas and the anticipation has resulted in the film trending on Twitter.

For the Hindi version, Beast has been titled Raw instead and it is set to release in around 700 Indian cinemas.

This will clash with other films such as KGF – Chapter 2 and Jersey.

A trade expert said: “Vijay’s earlier film, Master, didn’t work in the Hindi version.

“Also recently, a few dubbed films like Ravi Teja’s Khiladi and Ajith’s Valimai failed to attract audiences.

“Yet, there is an excitement for Beast as Vijay is a known face.”

“Moreover, thanks to the super-success of Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01 and RRR, exhibitors would be ready to give Beast a chance.

“Its trailer has caught the attention and the song ‘Arabic Kuthu’ has become a rage even for the Hindi speaking audiences.”

The film is slated for a worldwide release on April 23, 2022.