• Source:JND

Aamir Khan's Dangal is the highest-grossing Indian film with Rs 2,000 crore at the worldwide box office. The movie's Chinese distribution accounted for a sizeable amount of its revenue. The Bollywood star recently disclosed that he had refused to have it released in Pakistan after the country's censor board insisted on the removal of the Indian flag and national anthem.

Aamir Khan revealed that the censor board has previously prohibited filmmakers from making direct references to certain nations during his appearance on Rajat Sharma's Aap Ki Adalat. Instead, they were to use phrases like 'neighboring country.' He noted that Sarfarosh, his film, was the first Indian film to publicly address both ISIS and Pakistan. He was sure they could defend the inclusion, even though director John Mathew Matthan was initially worried the censor board would reject it.

Aamir Khan disclosed that the decision to not distribute Dangal in Pakistan was made in response to a request from the Censor Board of Pakistan to exclude significant patriotic themes from the movie's climax. "After Sarfarosh, I got a lot of negative comments from Pakistan about what we were showing about them. When Dangal came into theatres, Disney was one of the producers, and they presented the film. They said that we have got a reaction from Pakistan's censor board and they have asked us, 'Geeta Phogat ke jeetne par jo tiranga upar jaata hai aur humara rashtra gaan bajta hai, toh aap yeh dono nikal dijiye or we'll not pass the film'," he said.

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Aamir Khan claimed that the board had taken issue with the portions that featured the Indian national flag and anthem amid the emotional climax of wrestler Geeta Phogat's victory in a key bout for India. "So I told Disney in just one second that our film will not release in Pakistan. So they said, our business will be affected, and we will suffer a loss. I said, Jo humse kahega humara Indian flag nikal do aur humara national anthem nikal do, unse mujhe matlab hi nahi hai (Anyone who tells us to remove our Indian flag and national anthem — I have nothing to do with them). I don't want that business," he added.

About Dangal

Aamir Khan portrayed Mahavir Singh Phogat, an amateur wrestler who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari Phogat to become India's first elite female wrestlers. Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar played the Phogat sisters' younger selves, while Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra played their older counterparts. Sakshi Tanwar played a major role in Dangal. 

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Nitesh Tiwari directed the biographical sports drama, which brought in Rs 387 crore in India and Rs 2,070.3 crore globally.