India delays The Da Vinci Code release

New Delhi (SF) - With less than a week to go till its world premier, The Da Vinci Code faces new troubles with catholic groups. For one part the Indian government announced that the release of the film will be delayed, due to more than 200 complaints that were received by Information and Broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi.

Dasmunshi, who asked for a special screening of the moving in order to analyze it, said that it could be delayed by a day or two. "We are a secular country. On any sensitive issue, we should take action after we examine every aspect. We have to be careful," he said.

The head of the Catholic secular forum, Joseph Dias, is currently in a hunger strike for the government's decision to show the movie, and affirmed he will be joined by some more people: "We want the movie to be banned. The movie should not be shown in India."

In another country, Thailand, the Film Censorship board decided to cut the last ten minutes of the movie, agreeing with some catholic churches. "The committee also agrees that the movie should have a message before opening credit that the movie was produced from a fiction, not a real story," stated Chavana Mahitchartkul, member of the Board, to local newspaper The Nation.