Umair Nasir Ali raises concerns after half of Nayab is cut from HUM TV broadcast

Pakistani filmmaker Umair Nasir Ali has voiced his disappointment after discovering that significant portions of his 2024 sports drama Nayab were removed during its recent television broadcast without his knowledge or consultation.

The director addressed the issue through a series of Instagram Stories, explaining that the film had already been broadcast on television several times. He said he had previously been pleased to see Nayab reaching a larger audience through television. However, the latest airing led to messages and calls from viewers who noticed that several scenes from the theatrical version were missing.

Ali said he was informed by viewers that important parts of the film had been removed from the televised version. He described the experience of watching his completed work being changed without consultation as upsetting, particularly because filmmaking involves carefully planned decisions regarding storytelling, pacing and editing.

The filmmaker stressed that cinema is an artistic medium in which every scene, pause and transition has a specific purpose. According to him, removing individual portions can affect the rhythm and structure of an entire film. He compared the situation to altering a completed painting simply to make it fit a particular space, suggesting that creative works should be treated with consideration for the artist’s original vision.

Despite expressing his concerns, Ali made it clear that his remarks were not intended as an attack on the broadcaster. He acknowledged that television networks operate under different scheduling requirements, formats and commercial limitations. He also praised HUM TV for its longstanding contribution to Pakistani drama and original storytelling.

Instead, the director appealed to broadcasters to involve filmmakers when making significant changes to films for television. He described such consultation as a small but important step that could help protect the creative intentions of filmmakers while also contributing to a stronger film culture in Pakistan.

Ali later examined a screen recording of the August 16 television broadcast to determine the extent of the cuts. He stated that Nayab has an original runtime of approximately 155 minutes. The broadcast, however, reportedly contained around 38 minutes of advertising. After accounting for the commercial breaks, Ali calculated that only about 79 minutes of the actual film were shown.

This meant that almost half of the movie was absent from the televised version. For Ali, the scale of the cuts went beyond normal television editing and raised serious concerns about how filmmakers’ work is treated after its theatrical release.

He described the experience as painful from a creative perspective and argued that such extensive alterations should not be considered acceptable within the filmmaking community. He also urged HUM TV management to review the matter and establish clearer standards for adapting films for television.

Nayab marked Ali's debut as a feature-film director and stars Yumna Zaidi as an aspiring cricketer. The cast also includes Jawed Sheikh, Fawad Khan, Usama Khan, Noreen Gulwani, Huma Nawab and Adnan Siddiqui.

Ali is the founder of production company Num Films and has also been involved in directing the re-recorded version of Pakistan’s national anthem released for the country’s 79th Independence Day.

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