Sunny Deol's 'Border 2' Hits Indian Screens But Banned For Gulf Audiences Over Content Concerns

Mumbai: The first big release of 2026, 'Border 2' was opened widely in Indian cinema on Friday. But just like actor Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar, the Anurag Singh's directorial will not release in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, over concerns about content perceived as sensitive in that region. 

The audiences in much of the Middle East won't will be able to watch the film in theatres.

Why is 'Border 2' banned on Middle East?

The action film, with Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty, will not release in the Middle East, due to its perceived 'anti-Pakistan' sentiment.

The war drama, portrays events around the 1971 India-Pakistan war. 'Border 2' is a fictionalised war story that uses real incidents to highlights the bravery of Indian Armed Forces and includes scenes where Pakistan is shown as the opponent.

According to Bollywood Hungama reports the film will not release in six Gulf countries. 

“Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will not be releasing Border 2. By now, it's a given that films perceived as having 'anti-Pakistan' content don’t get a release in this belt,” the report stated.

A source said, "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."

What about 'Dhurandhar'?

'Dhurandhar', which was directed by Aditya Dhar and starred Ranveer Singh, was not released in several Middle Eastern nations, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. 

What About The Film?

'Border 2', which is directed by Anurag Singh, is expected to take a massive opening at the box office, with figures of Rs 32-35 crore. If this happens then the film will become the biggest openings of Diljit, Varun, and Ahan's careers, while the second-biggest for Sunny after 'Gadar 2'.