Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan’s upcoming spy comedy film Udta Teer has been denied public screening permission by Nepal’s Central Film Censor Board over sensitive geopolitical themes involving India and Pakistan, though the movie remains scheduled for its theatrical release in India.

Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan’s upcoming spy comedy film Udta Teer has been denied public screening permission by Nepal’s Central Film Censor Board over sensitive geopolitical themes involving India and Pakistan, though the movie remains scheduled for its theatrical release in India.

Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan’s upcoming spy comedy film Udta Teer has been denied public screening permission by Nepal’s Central Film Censor Board over sensitive geopolitical themes involving India and Pakistan, though the movie remains scheduled for its theatrical release in India.

Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan’s upcoming spy comedy film Udta Teer has hit a roadblock in Nepal, ahead of its worldwide theatrical release on Friday.

The film was denied permission for public screening following a review by Nepal’s Central Film Censor Board. The regulatory authority reportedly found the film to violate a provision of the country’s cinema law.

Nepal’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology sent a letter to the film’s local distributor, National Cine Group Nepal, explaining the ministry’s decision to stop the screening. The censor board’s assessment was final, with the ministry refusing to grant permission for the film’s public screening.

According to media reports, the Ministry of Audio-visual and Broadcasting stated that the film’s content is prohibited under Section 8(3) of the Film (Production, Exhibition and Distribution) Act, 1963. The Section states that the film censor board cannot approve a film that might potentially disturb Nepal’s security, peace and order, relations with friendly countries or harmony among different classes or ethnic groups.

Nepali film writer and critic Samipyaraj Timilsina, who talked to Global Newsflix, said the Central Film Censor Board reportedly denied the film permission because its sensitive storyline explored tensions between India and Pakistan.

Nepal maintains a neutral stance during conflicts between India and Pakistan.

The film, directed by Aakash Kaushik and produced by Dharma Productions, follows a Pakistani spy who loses his memory in India and begins believing that he is an Indian counterterrorism officer and develops a sense of patriotism.

The Aamir Khan-produced Bantwara 1947, which follows a Muslim family displaced during the partition, was also temporarily put on hold by Nepal’s Central Film Screening Committee. Though the regulatory authorities never explicitly objected to the film’s storyline, the movie's geopolitical themes are allegedly sensitive.

While the film will face public screening restrictions in Nepal, it is set to release in India on October 23.