'Singham Again' and 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' banned in Saudi Arabia for THESE reasons

Stills from Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

This Diwali, the Indian box office will see a major clash between two Bollywood films-Singham Again directed by Rohit Shetty and Bhool Bhulaiayaa 3 directed by Anees Bazmee. Both films are part of successful franchises and have a massive fan following. While one comes from an established cop universe, the other is known to be a fun horror-comedy. The cast of both films is rather interesting and is expected to pull the audiences to the theatres. While both films will have a worldwide release on November 1, the films will not be released in Saudi Arabia.

Why Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 will not be released in Saudi Arabia?

The film censor board in Saudi Arabia is pretty strict and often bans films that do not follow their guidelines. The country usually bans films that have religiously sensitive material, explicit sexual content, or themes that go against local customs. Some films are edited to meet Saudi standards, while others are not shown at all.

So what aspect of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 did not sit well with Saudi Arabian authorities? As per reports, while Singham Again will not be released in the Middle-Eastern country due to its portrayal of 'religious conflict', Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is banned over homosexual references. The films will however be released in rest of UAE.

Meanwhile, Singham Again will be released in Singapore a week later on November 7. According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the delay in getting a censore certificate is the cause behind the same. Besides Ajay Devgn, 'Singham Again' also stars Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. It is directed by Rohit Shetty. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, directed by Anees Bazmee, also features Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri.

As per the official press note, Singham Again will have a wide overseas release in 1900 screens, including a record-breaking 197 screens in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. In North America, it will be shown in more than 760 screens and in Canada, it has secured the highest number of screens in Cineplex, which contributes 80% of Canada's box office. In the UK and Ireland, Singham Again has secured showcasing in 224 cinemas.