Puri seer demands ban on 'Kaminey'

Bhubaneswar, Aug 27 (IANS) Puri Shankaracharya Nishchalanand Saraswati Thursday demanded a ban on the Hindi film 'Kaminey' for allegedly demeaning Lord Jagannath.

The seer strongly objected to a scene in the movie where the phrase - 'Apna Hath Jagannath' - is written above a poster showing a scantily clad woman on the wall of a public toilet.

'The scene painted Lord Jagannath in poor light. People across the country should come forward to lodge their protests against such attempts to denigrate a Hindu god,' he told reporters at Puri, some 56 km from Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, the administration of the Lord Jagannath temple at Puri has decided to write to the producer of the hit movie starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra to delete the 'objectionable scene', a senior official of the shrine said Thursday.

The protests against the movie soon after its release Friday has spread to other parts of the state with people burning posters and staging demonstrations at various places.

Security has been stepped up at theatres across the state where the movie is being screened.

Earlier, the Puri police had filed a case under Section 295A (hurting religious sentiments) of the Indian Penal Code against the producer of the movie following a complaint lodged by a local religious outfit.

The film is directed by Vishal Bharadwaj.