Censorship On 14 November, the
Central Board of Film Censors stated, "The general plot of the movie revolves around rape, which we consider to be unacceptable." They said the film would be permanently banned, if the filmmakers did not claim. The Lahore and Karachi premieres were also cancelled officially. This caused an outcry from women's rights campaigners which spread via social media such as
Twitter.
Gulalai Ismail, human rights activist and founder of
Aware Girls stated, "rape is a rampant issue in Pakistan […] movies like
Verna are crucial in moving society forward." On 15 November,
Marriyum Aurangzeb ensured the film release, saying it is pending for a full board review. On 17 November, the film cleared the censor boards and released as per schedule without any censors. It was rated adult film in Sindh, while it was given universal audience certificate in Punjab. In the US and UK, it was rated 15+.
Critical reception Writing for
MangoBaaz, Haadia Paracha said, "
Verna had all the makings of another Shoaib Mansoor masterpiece. The director’s reputation precedes him, what with his stellar track record of producing films with actual substance like “
Khuda Ke Liye” and “
Bol“, often playing with uncomfortable yet progressive themes. This product, however, fell short of its promise." For
The Express Tribune, Rahul Aijaz rated 2 out of 5 stars and referred the film as plastic ship that "was bound to sink". He added it "could've been the flagbearer of women's rights and social change but ends up a mere hologram." Shafiq Ul Hasan said, "There are times when a plot is very powerful" and "has the ability to sell itself on paper". But he too rated 2 stars out of 5, saying that it "seems to have failed" the "real test" that how a film "is presented to the audience". Hamna Zubair of
DAWN Images said, "The film message is lost in more subtle failures too," adding that the film might "end up doing the opposite of what it intended - that is - to depict rape as a terrible crime." For
The News International, Aijaz Gul praised the film throughout, saying "With powerful direction, impressive performance" by the cast, "good use of Islamabad locations", "brilliant camera work, sound, and soothing production effects," it "can be compared with any top" English film. Aamna Haider Isani noted, "It's gripping story-telling", but the "plot is riddled with loopholes and some of the dialogues are just as weak." For
Daily Times, Fouzia Saeed praised it, "Through its dialogue, the film does a public service by educating the whole nation on how to report a rape," but reminded that some faults are to be answered by the filmmakers. Ally Adnan said, "It is poorly written, horribly directed, shoddily shot, sloppily acted, incompetently dubbed, and clumsily edited". Yaqoob Khan Bangash said that the film should have led all of us to take any kind of sexual violence seriously, "However, it ended up only highlighting the issue and then promoted entrapment, lies, and vigilante justice." For
The Nation, Nida Tahseen said that this film wouldn't bag much appreciation, noting the reasons as "poor dialogues, bad locations" and "below average performances". Marryam Suleman said that "the direction, the dialogues, the technicalities and the unrealistic end of the movie" showed failure, however, between "a lot of loopholes," there are the "moments of sheer effulgence too." Khurram Sohail of
Dawn News praised the actors, but commented as per the sensitivity of the overall topic, actors failed to express their influence. Dr Dushka H Saiyid of
Youlin Magazine praised the film and its cast, and said, "Having built up the film to an exciting crescendo, the end was a little fanciful". For
Dunya News, Tehreem Azeem wrote that the director haven't done justice to the story, while trying to highlight many social issues, he couldn't told any of them completely. Maleeha Mengal too praised all the cast, but said, "The story line could have been simplified, but instead it went a bit too far from the basics, leaving the viewer confused." Omair Alavi also praised their acting, but rated 1 out of 5 stars; he wrote to
Samaa TV, "the film has more negatives than positives". According to Mehr Tarar, the film is "well-made, well-directed, well-acted and well-written" with the exception of a few structural flaws, contrary to some critical reviews. Fifi Haroon wrote to
The Wire that "as a manifesto for women's rights" the film "may well have hit its mark." Sadaf Haider commented that the storyline has "a few plot holes and some convenient leaps of faith", but overall it has "a strong message that is not to be missed."
Mahira Khan's disclaimer On 23 November, Mahira Khan tweeted, "The disclaimer before
Verna starts […] Everything in the film is imaginary. Imaginary because reality is too bitter to be told or shown." This also caused her to be backlashed by the public, however, she maintained the silence. ==See also==