iWorld
Despite assurances no sign of lifting the ban on YouTube in Pakistan
NEW DELHI: Even as the ban on YouTube in Pakistan is expected to continue with the government unrelenting, the Sindh High Court has issued notices to the information technology secretary, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman and other concerned authorities. The notices are on a petition challenging the ban on video-sharing website.
The parties have been asked to file their replies by 12 August according to a Pakistani website.
The move was followed by a petition backed by several petitioners stating that PTA had blocked over 1000 websites since September 2012 under the guise of ‘blasphemous content’.
They submitted that a ban on the largest video portal on internet affecting badly the students, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, religious scholars and all those who used the video website for commercial and professional aim.
It was stated in the petition that instead of blocking the specific URLs, PTA opted to block the whole platform depriving the citizens of their basic rights. The move isn’t unheard of because many Islamic countries have a system to block those blasphemous content or unwanted web pages on the internet.
The petitioner further stated that PTA planning to block even more pages in the future which would cause even more trouble for the people and they pleaded the court to stop PTA from doing this. The court was also requested to declare the censorship on websites including YouTube a deliberate violation of the fundamental rights as protected in the Constitution of Pakistan.
Earlier, the Lahore High Court had asked the Pakistan government to resolve the issue. The Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and Information Technology Minister Anusha Rehman even assured the court that the ban would be lifted soon, but this has not happened. An assurance that new software for blocking offensive videos would be acquired has also not been fulfilled.
This is despite the fact that several artists and media persons have been protesting against the ban for the past two years.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
