Fighter’ Banned in Gulf Countries Except for UAE; Disappoints Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone Fans

Fans of Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone residing in the Gulf countries will be disappointed as their highly anticipated film ‘Fighter‘ has been officially banned across the Middle East regions, except for the UAE. The ban, which was revealed by film business expert and producer Girish Johar, didn’t disclose the reason behind the decision.

While the Gulf countries have prohibited the theatrical release of ‘Fighter’, the action-packed aerial thriller is set to hit Indian cinemas on January 25. Directed by Siddharth Anand, the film also features Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, and Akshay Oberoi.

The movie revolves around the Balakot airstrike carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in the Balakot vicinity of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. This airstrike, conducted in retaliation to a terror attack in J&K that claimed the lives of nearly 40 CRPF soldiers, targeted the alleged biggest camp of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

‘Fighter’ marks the third collaboration between Deepika Padukone and Siddharth Anand after their successful ventures ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ in 2008 and ‘Pathaan‘ in 2023. Furthermore, it is the third film of Siddharth Anand with Hrithik Roshan, following the blockbuster ‘Bang Bang!’ and ‘War’.

In the film, Hrithik Roshan portrays the character of Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania, also known as Patty, while Deepika Padukone appears as Squadron Leader Minal Rathore, aka Minni. The veteran actor Anil Kapoor takes on the role of Group Captain Rakesh Jai Singh, also known as Rocky.

Siddharth, who co-founded the film company MARFLIX with his wife Mamta, expressed his anticipation and anxiety about the release of ‘Fighter’. He hopes that the audience will shower the same love on the film as they did on ‘Pathaan’, which was released last year. The director wished everyone a Happy New Year and invited them to watch ‘Fighter’ in theaters on January 25.