Date:22/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072224400400.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

The Code screened amid protest

Special Correspondent

There was a case of wrist-slashing too. The police had their hands full

ON GUARD: Police keep a vigil at Shalimar Theatre in the city on Friday during the screening of `The Da Vinci Code' — PHOTO: P.V.Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: After several hiccups, the controversial film `The Da Vinci Code' finally hit the screens in the State capital, but the process was fraught with enough drama - minor protests, hold-ups and even eleventh hour cancellations.

Of the 12 theatres where it was to be released, seven backed out in the last minute while the film was screened in the rest of the theatres with the police standing guard outside.

Activists of All Indian Christian United Front halted the screening of the morning show at Shalimar theatre in Ramkote, the main theatre for the film's English version in the city, and Rajdhani theatre in Dilshukhnagar before entering into a scuffle with the police and theatre managements. One protester is said to have even slashed his wrist at Shalimar theatre.

50 rounded up

Police rounded up 50 protesters and whisked them away while the screening, which was halted for sometime, was resumed at both the theatres.

The Front president T. Vijay Raj said the protest would continue till the film was removed from all the theatres.

He claimed that they had succeeded in persuading some theatre managements not to screen the film.

R.L. Agarwal, distributor of the film for the city, maintained that heads of the Christian community were shown the film on Thursday and they had suggested five deletions, which `we complied with'.

The film will be screened with police protection, he added.