Border-2, the eagerly awaited Hindi war film starring Sunny Deol, faces a significant setback just ahead of its 23 January 2026 release. Scheduled to thrill audiences across India with its patriotic narrative rooted in Indo-Pak military history, the sequel to J P Dutta's 1997 classic has been outright banned in key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have denied it certification, depriving producers of a lucrative overseas market.

This decision stems directly from the film's content, which reportedly glorifies Indian armed forces in border skirmishes with Pakistan. Much like its predecessor, Border-2 dramatizes intense combat sequences along the Line of Control, portraying Pakistani forces in a negative light. GCC regulators, sensitive to bilateral ties between Gulf states and Pakistan, view such depictions as 'anti-Pakistan' propaganda, a recurring red flag for Bollywood exports.

The ban mirrors the fate of Dhurandhar, another 2025 Hindi release that crossed ₹1,000 crore globally despite a similar GCC blackout. Makers of Border-2 lobbied hard for approval, including potential edits to tone down contentious scenes, but efforts failed. Trade insiders note that Gulf markets, contributing 10-15% of Bollywood's overseas earnings, now routinely reject films with overt India-Pakistan friction.

Sunny Deol's track record amplifies the irony. His 2023 megahit Gadar 2, centred on Partition-era Indo-Pak hostilities, suffered the same GCC exclusion. The pattern persists: Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's 2024 Fighter was initially barred across most Gulf nations—save the UAE—for referencing the Pulwama terror attack, blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The trend escalated in 2025 with Akshay Kumar's Sky Force and John Abraham's The Diplomat, both military-themed films axed for analogous reasons. Yami Gautam's Article 370 (2024), chronicling Kashmir's Article 370 abrogation—a move Pakistan condemned—faced blanket GCC denial. Even Salman Khan's Tiger 3 (2023) skipped Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar over espionage plotlines implicating Pakistani intelligence.

Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files (2022) encountered early bans in the UAE and other states, later cleared with an adults-only rating. These cases highlight GCC censors' growing vigilance on politically charged narratives, often tied to real-world India-Pakistan flashpoints like the 2019 Balakot airstrikes or Kargil War echoes.

In 2026 alone, Border 2 marks the second such casualty after Dhurandhar, underscoring a hardening stance amid regional geopolitics. Gulf nations, hosting large Pakistani expatriate communities, prioritise diplomatic harmony with Islamabad. Bollywood's reliance on these markets—fuelled by Indian diaspora—makes the bans costly, though domestic hauls often compensate.

Recent military developments add intrigue. India's successful test of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile on 17 January 2026, dubbed a 'next-gen nuke-capable wonder' by DRDO, reignited Indo-Pak tensions. Conducted from Odisha amid Pakistan's sabre-rattling over border incursions, the trial's timing—days before Border 2's ban announcement—fuels speculation of a link. Critics argue GCC bans pre-empt cinematic amplification of such escalations.

Directed by Anurag Singh (Kesari), Border-2 boasts a powerhouse cast including Diljit Dosanjh, Varun Dhawan, and Ahaan Shetty. It promises high-octane action revisiting 1999 Kargil-like heroism, with Deol reprising his iconic soldier role. Advance bookings in India surge, pitting it against Gadar-2's opening benchmarks, as producers bank on patriotic fervour.

Trade analysts predict a ₹100 crore-plus opening weekend domestically, offsetting Gulf losses estimated at ₹20-30 crore. Yet the bans signal broader challenges for Bollywood's global ambitions. As India pushes 'Make in India' defence narratives on screen, filmmakers may need self-censorship or alternative markets like North America and Southeast Asia.

This saga reflects cinema's entanglement with geopolitics. While Gulf bans curb 'sensitive' content, they inadvertently boost domestic buzz, turning perceived slights into marketing wins. For Sunny Deol, whose Jaisalmer promotions evoked soldierly adulation, Border-2 cements his enduring appeal amid such hurdles.

Agencies