When Joyland was selected as Pakistan’s first ever entry at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, director Saim Sadiq was hopeful that the film would find a way to impact Pakistan. “Everything felt more emotional, because it felt like the start of something,” he had told Aljazeera after a receiving a long standing ovation.

But it looks like the ‘start’ Saim was hoping for might not materialize, after Joyland’s release in Pakistan was put into doubt on Friday.

A senator from Jamat-e-Islami proudly announced on Twitter that the permission for the film’s release has been revoked in Pakistan.

The notification he attached with his Tweet from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that the release permission, originally granted, stood revoked. The reason outlined was ’Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society…“ It cited ‘decency and morality’ standards from a 1979 law for the decision. But what is the film about

Too taboo for Pakistan?

Joyland isn’t just a love story, plenty of which are still made and released in Pakistan. It is the story of a forbidden desire, a taboo relationship. The hero’s muse isn’t a girl but a transgender.

Haider (played by Ali Junejo), is from a traditional family from Central Lahore. His hope of becoming the breadwinner leads him to take up the first job he can find, a dancer at a local club for a transgender named Biba (played by Alina Khan). As they grow close, Haider finds that he has much to learn about the world as about himself.

But individual heterosexuality isn’t the only thing Joyland challenges. It also puts the main character in a conflict between his conservative Muslim family and a socially unacceptable relationship. Oh and Haider is already married when he meets Biba. All that combined proved too much for Pakistan’s authorities.

Smear campaign

Even after being banned from release, it looks like Joyland’s troubles are still not over. Actress Sarwat Gillani, who plays Haider’s sister-in-law Nucchi, took to Twitter to say that a ‘paid smear campaign’ is being run against the film.

She said that the authorities who banned the film came under pressure from the smear campaign which was being run by people ‘some of whom have not even seen the film’. She said that 200 people had worked on the film for 6 years.

“No one’s forcing anyone to watch it! So don’t force anyone to not watch it either! Pakistani viewers are smart enough to know what they want to watch or not. Let Pakistanis decide!” she wrote.