Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS): The upcoming Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone-starrer action film 'Fighter' has been banned in Gulf countries.

However, the one country where the film will be screened in the Middle East is the UAE, as per reports.

According to film business expert Girish Johar, the film has been denied a release in the Gulf countries with the UAE being the only exception.

Johar confirmed that 'Fighter' will release in the UAE with PG 15 classification.

The reason for the ban is unclear so far.

An official confirmation regarding the ban is yet to be made by the makers, who have planned a worldwide release for the film on January 25 including UAE.

'Fighter' isn't the first film to be banned in Gulf countries. Earlier, the Mammootty-starrer 'Kaathal - The Core', the Thalapathy Vijay Vijay-starrer 'Beast', 'Sita Ramam', Tamil film 'FIR' and the Mohanlal-starrer 'Monster' were banned.

The gulf countries deny release of films over different reasons, some of which include the portrayal of Islamists as extremists, promotion of LGBTQIA+ content and religious grounds as well.