Censors clear it, minister cans it

WILL INDIA get to watch The Da Vinci Code ? the movie that will be premiered at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday night and is set for worldwide release this week? The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said on Tuesday that clearance would be given to the film only if the Catholic Churches' Association of India (CCAI) okayed it.

WILL INDIA get to watch The Da Vinci Code — the movie that will be premiered at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday night and is set for worldwide release this week? The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said on Tuesday that clearance would be given to the film only if the Catholic Churches' Association of India (CCAI) okayed it.

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Staying the release of the film, I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said he along with the CCAI representatives and Censor Board members would watch the movie on Wednesday. He asked the Censor Board not to give the film a certification till the CCAI gave it a go-ahead.

The minister said he got representations from 290 organisation seeking a ban on the controversial film. The Censor Board — with three Catholics — had on Monday cleared the movie without any cuts. It said the movie would be given an A certificate, if a disclaimer — saying it was a work of fiction — was shown at the beginning.

An adaptation of the blockbuster novel by Dan Brown, the film suggests that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a bloodline, which the Church tried to cover up.

Goa has already come out against the movie. Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane said the government would write to the Censor Board seeking a ban on the movie in the state  — or at least the censoring of offensive scenes.

The Catholic organisations have welcomed Dasmunshi's suggestion. Joseph Diaz of the Catholic Social forum said the "voice of Christians has been heard".