Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs has directed the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to stop the planned theatrical screening of ‘Paanch Pandav’, which was due to open in cinemas this Friday. The instruction was conveyed orally to the filmmakers, according to a member of the production team. Director Basanta Niraula said the home secretary issued the direction. The film, featuring actor Harivansh Acharya, has therefore encountered an official hurdle before its scheduled release.
Instruction comes before planned release
The direction places the film’s release plans in question just days before it was expected to reach theatres. The Home Ministry instructed the communications ministry to halt the screening, according to reports by Nepal Press and Pradesh Khabar. The filmmakers were informed orally, a production team member said, while Niraula identified the home secretary as the official who issued the instruction.
The available information does not clarify whether a written order has also been issued or how the communications ministry will implement the direction. It establishes, however, that the Home Ministry has asked the ministry responsible for communication and information technology to stop the film’s screening. The instruction comes before the scheduled theatrical launch, rather than after a reported run in cinemas.
Request from Banke preceded the decision
The action followed a request from Banke district. Chief District Officer Dil Kumar Tamang had written to the Home Ministry seeking a halt to the screening, according to the summary of the reports. The sequence described is that the district official sought intervention from the central ministry, after which the Home Ministry issued its direction to the communications ministry.
The reported request and subsequent instruction mark the administrative steps that have brought the planned release into uncertainty. No further details have been provided about the grounds cited in Tamang’s letter, the reason for the Home Ministry’s direction, or any response from the communications ministry. The reports also do not set out whether the filmmakers have been given a formal explanation or a timeline for a decision.
Film faces uncertainty ahead of theatrical debut
‘Paanch Pandav’ had been scheduled to release in theatres this Friday and features Harivansh Acharya. Its release plans have now been disrupted by the Home Ministry’s instruction, which was communicated to the production team orally. The film had already become controversial before its release, according to the information provided, though no details about the nature of that controversy were specified.
With the planned opening approaching, the central question is whether the screening will proceed or be stopped in line with the ministry’s direction. The information available so far confirms the instruction and the earlier request from Banke’s chief district officer, but does not confirm a final decision by the communications ministry or announce a revised release date. For now, the filmmakers’ intended Friday release remains uncertain.
