The first biggie of 2026, Border 2, is all set to release tomorrow, and there’s tremendous excitement for it, as evident by the ticket sales. Not just in India, but it is poised for a healthy opening overseas as well. But those waiting to see the film in Gulf countries or the UAE/GCC belt would be disheartened to know that it would not get a release in the region.
A source told , “Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will not be releasing Border 2. By now, it’s given that films which are perceived as having ‘anti-Pakistan’ content don’t get a release in this belt. Yet, the team of Border 2 did make an attempt and sadly, their attempts proved futile. One day is left for release and the hope is still there that they pass the film, though the possibility seems remote.”
The source continued, “Recently, even Dhurandhar was not allowed a release in the same region. However, the makers of Border 2 are not losing sleep over it as they are aware that if the film manages to strike a chord with the moviegoers, the sky would be the limit in terms of its collections. Even Dhurandhar excelled at the ticket window and the money lost due to no release in the UAE/GCC belt didn’t matter. Hopefully, Border 2 will go the same way.”
Gadar 2, Border, Fighter, Skyforce Banned Too In Gulf Countries
Interestingly, Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 (2023) was also not allowed a release in the Gulf region for the same reason. The 2024 Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone starrer Fighter was initially banned in all the Gulf countries, except the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The film’s depiction of the Pulwama attack sparked criticism from some sections in Pakistan, with accusations of the film promoting an ‘anti-Pakistan’ agenda and ‘exploiting a sensitive issue’.
Shockingly, a day later, even the UAE suspended its release in its territory. Following this, the makers of Fighter submitted the re-edited version of the film to the UAE ministry after removing some ‘problematic’ scenes and dialogues. However, the UAE ministry rejected the re-edited version of Fighter too.
In 2025, the Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force and the John Abraham-starrer The Diplomat were banned in several countries of the Middle East due to concerns over their content. Both these films also dealt with Pakistan.
Article 370 (2024), which was based on the revocation of a controversial article in Kashmir, was also refused certification in GCC. Tiger 3 (2023), starring Salman Khan, was banned in Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. The Kashmir Files (2022) was banned in several Gulf states. UAE initially banned it too but later, it cleared it with an adults-only certificate.
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