[lbo-talk] 'Da Vinci Code' film banned in Pakistan, parts of India

[Sujeet Bhatt]

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/arts/national/2006/06/03/davincicode-india.html

'Da Vinci Code' film banned in Pakistan, parts of India
Last Updated Sat, 03 Jun 2006 17:18:04 EDT
CBC Arts

Pakistan has joined seven of India's 29 states in banning the movie
The Da Vinci Code saying it is insulting to Christians.

Pakistan's Minister of Culture Ghulam Jamal announced Saturday that
the film would not be shown in the country out of respect for
Pakistan's Christian minority, which comprises three per cent of the
150 million population.

"The Da Vinci Code is a sacrilegious act in the guise of freedom of
expression and fiction," said Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian leader in
Pakistan.

Pakistan's announcement comes in the wake of Friday's proclamation by
officials in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, who said
they would join six other states including Goa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu
in banning the movie.

The movie starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou is based on the
best-selling book by Dan Brown.

'Attacks Gospel'

"The film's storyline attacked the very heart of the Holy Gospel,
destroying the divinity of Jesus Christ," said Paul Bhuyan, the
special chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh. Christians make up one per
cent of the state's 80 million people.

In terms of India's entire population of one billion people, only two
per cent is Christian.

Part of the Da Vinci Code's premise is that Jesus was married to Mary
Magdalene, that she bore him a child, and that their familial line has
continued to modern times.

"The release of the movie could have led to demonstrations and
trouble," pointed out Bhuyan.

Marampudi Joji, the Roman Catholic bishop in Hyderabad, India, said he
appreciated the decision and was "grateful" to the state government.

Despite the film's controversy and bad reviews, it earned $224 million
US worldwide in its first three days, the second-largest debut at the
global box office.

Columbia Pictures was so pleased with the movie's performance that it
announced plans to turn Brown's earlier book introducing symbologist
Robert Langdon, Angels and Demons, into a movie.  Hanks plays Langdon
in The Da Vinci Code.

The film was released May 26 in India and has been playing to packed houses.