A lot of hype surrounded the launch of Operation 021, a spy/action thriller featuring Pakistan’s leading actor Shaan. The movie looked to build on the success of Waar which got the nation excited about the future of action movies in Pakistan. However the movie which was released on Eid Ul Azha received a very different response than was anticipated.
The movie which was being shown in all major cinemas in Pakistan included one of the oldest cinemas in the country, Capri and Bambino cinemas in Karachi. There the screening of Operation 021 was interrupted midway when the crowd started jeering and throwing bottles at the screen. The management staff of the cinema was also harassed by people who demanded their money back.
Following the response, the Capri and Bambino cinema management decided to cancel the 8pm screening scheduled later that day and are now playing other movies such as Na Maloom Afraad and Bang Bang. The screen of the cinema was also damaged in this process.
One possible reason for this response given by the staff at Bambino was that people were upset because the film was in English language as opposed to Urdu. This may also explain why the movie seemed to do much better at other cinemas such as Atrium and Nueplex where a more educated gentry is expected than at these cinemas but it is something that should have been considered by the film makers who could have atleast provided Urdu subtitles for a film which was marketed to a majority Urdu speaking nation.