Churails is back up on Zee5 in Pakistan
Lauded internationally and shut down in its country of origin, Asim Abbasi's Churails was taken down in Pakistan by the international video-streaming website Zee5 based on its content.
Where four women came together to expose cheating husbands through a covert detective agency in the show, audiences and prominent industry celebrities united in real life to speak against the ban, calling it suffocation of artistic freedom in the country.
Scriptwriter and director Asim Abbasi rejoiced the news with those who stood for the win.
"The witches who wouldn’t burn. Not yet. Not today. Churails is now back on in Pakistan and there is no better woman, better actor, better screen-grab that embodies my current mood!" he posted.
Praising Hina Khwaja for her role in the show, Abbasi further took to congratulate her on dealing gracefully with the hate that came her way.
"You are a rockstar for gracefully dealing with all the needless vilification. You played Sherry and her patriarchal bargain to absolute perfection. No moral policing can ever take that away from you."
An unnamed official of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said PTA contacted the platform after receiving complaints about the show.
“We cannot block (content) on our own, but we can write to the platform, which we have done,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Following, Zee5 released a statement, calling Churails their "success story" and revealing that the move was done in compliance with the PTA.
“Our aim has always been to create content that resonates strongly with viewers across the globe. Churails has been a phenomenal success story for us and has been lauded and loved the world over."
"The show was taken off the platform in Pakistan purely in compliance with a directive that we received. We have now addressed the matter and reinstated the show on our platform," it read.
Truly, a victory!
Comments