Why Saudi Arabia banned Malayalam movie 'Maranamass'

Malayalam blockbuster movie 'Maranamass' will not be screened in the Gulf country of Saudi Arabia, according to reports. The Basil Joseph-starrer, co-produced by actor Tovino Thomas, is said to be a dark comedy thriller. 

 

The movie ran into trouble with Saudi Arabian authorities due to the inclusion of an actor from the LGBTQI+ community. This isn't the first time that Saudi Arabia has banned movies featuring LGBTQI+ content or cast, a policy in line with its official rejection of gender diversity and inclusion.

 

However, the movie will be screened in Kuwait after certain cuts. The officials allowed the screening of the movie after the makers decided to cut the scenes featuring the queer cast member. The makers of the movie stated in this regard, acknowledging that a few scenes in the first and second halves of the film had to be removed due to censorship laws. 

Recently, the director of the movie, Shivaprasad, claimed that the gender of the cast had no bearing on the movie, but also wanted to normalise LGBTQIA+ in society. 

Earlier, many GCC countries, including UAE and Saudi, had Hollywood musical 'Wicked', reportedly over its LGBTQ cast. 

Many Hollywood biggies, including 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' and 'Lightyear' too were banned for featuring scenes showing same-sex kiss. Earlier, the UAE banned Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Universe of Madness, in which one character refers to her "two mums."

Last year, the GCC had accused the US streaming giant Netflix of showing content that “contradicts Islamic values.” Of the GCC countries, Kuwait has emerged as one of the strictest Gulf states on film censorship,  surpassing even Saudi Arabia.

Middle East