Is that simple? A Pakistani movie is being screened across China? I dont think so. I see a message in this development from China to Government of Pakistan. Geo Films and Talisman Studios has announced that The Donkey King, the highest grossing Pakistani animated film by Aziz Jindani, is set to have become the first Pakistani film in recent times to get wide theatrical release in China on November 19, 2021.
The Donkey King was first premiered by Geo TV at a very specific time when general elections July 2018 were held after a long political upheaval in country to topple the government of Nawaz Shareef. PTI under its leadership of Imran Khan did not let Nawaz govern smoothly for a single day. Geo TV was standing against PTI. Imran Khan took Geo like an opponent many times.
Imran Khan is considered not fit to govern the country. PMLN mainly and some other parties including PPP and JUI take Imran Khan as naive person if we do not call fool. The Donkey is supposed to be a fool animal and symbol of foolishness in Pakistan.
Secondly the story of the movie have many aspects that indicate that the title role of Donkey King has been created keeping focus on Imran Khan. It looks uncivilized but it is reality.
China is worried for last many months because the work on CPEC has been slow down. Imran Khan’s government failed to develop close and trustworthy relationship with China as was established by PMLN and PPP. The ministers of PTI government took CPEC as suspicious and wrong agreement in the very first year of inception of the government. Abdul Razzaq Daud was the first to raise objections on CPEC.
This background and present status of stalled CPEC is enough to see the screening of The Donkey King in China as a message of displeasure of Chinese authorities to the government of Pakistan.
The Donkey King has already been a global ambassador for Pakistani cinema with dubbed theatrical release in over 10 countries including Spain, South Korea, Russia, Greece, Turkey, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Ukraine, Kazakhastan and Taiwan.
“We are ecstatic to see our film receive global appreciation across countries. The theatrical release in China is the final frontier in this journey. We hope that this unlocks door for release of more Pakistani films in China in future.” commented Aziz Jindani, the the mastermind behind The Donkey King.
The Donkey King is an animated comedy film that was released in Pakistan in October, 2018 and has been produced by Geo Films and Talisman Studios. The original version features the voices of Jan Rambo, Ismail Tara, Hina Dilpazeer, Ghulam Mohiuddin and Jawed Sheikh, and grossed Rs. 24.75 crores at domestic box office over a theatrical run that extended to over 25 weeks.
About The Donkey King
The Donkey King is an animated comedy film that was released in Pakistan in October 2018 and has been produced by Geo Films and Talisman Studios. The Urdu version of the film features the voices of Jan Rambo, Ismail Tara, HinaDilpazeer, Ghulam Mohiuddin, and Jawed Sheikh.
Tazeen Akhtar 
