Nepal Bans Udta Teer Screening Days Before October 23 Release

Nepal has refused permission for the public screening of Udta Teer, the Hindi spy comedy starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan, two days before the film opens in India on Friday, Oct. 23. The film will not be shown in Nepali cinemas unless the decision changes.

The decision

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology wrote to the local distributor, National Cine Group Nepal Pvt. Ltd., refusing permission for public exhibition under Section 8(3) of the Motion Picture (Production, Exhibition and Distribution) Act, 2026 BS, according to ICT Frame and other Nepali and Indian reports. The Central Film Censor Board examined the film on Oct. 16, and the ministry letter followed on Oct. 17, Glamsham reported, citing Nepali reports.

The authorities have not publicly named the scenes or elements that led to the refusal. ICT Frame reported that the censor board has in the past blocked films seen as targeting a neighboring or friendly country, a policy meant to protect Nepal's relations with its neighbors. No official statement has tied that policy to this film by name.

The film

Udta Teer is the directing debut of Akash Kaushik. Khurrana plays Bilal Ahmad, a Pakistani agent who enters India, loses his memory in an accident, and comes to believe he is an Indian agent. Sara Ali Khan co-stars, with Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and the late Mukul Dev in the cast. The film is produced by Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment. It was first set to open on Oct. 9 and was moved to Oct. 23.

What happens next

The ban covers Nepal only. The India release on Oct. 23 stands, and the makers have announced no change to it. The distributor in Nepal has not announced an appeal or a re-edit in the reports so far. For Nepali fans of Khurrana and Khan, the practical result is simple: the film will not be on a cinema screen in Nepal this week, and any legal way to watch it will have to wait for a later streaming or home release, if one is announced.

What the reports add

ICT Frame reported that the letter came from the ministry's Audio Visual and Broadcast Section and said the film's content violates the provisions of the Act. The same reporting linked the refusal to the film's anti-Pakistan themes and geopolitical commentary. Officials have not publicly named the objection themselves, so that reading of the decision comes from the reporting, not from the ministry.

The film's plot also puts Bilal on the zero line, the border strip between India and Pakistan, where he is stranded after the accident. Khurrana's character comes to believe he is an Indian counterterrorism officer. Filmibeat's cast list adds Raghubir Yadav, Brijendra Kala, Suhail Nayyar and Supriya Pilgaonkar, and the producer credits run to Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain alongside the two production houses.

Nepal is traditionally an important neighbouring market for Bollywood releases, which is why a refusal there lands beyond one territory: it trims overseas collections and dulls the opening week publicity of a star led film.