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`Cultural policing' decried

Correspondent

Objects to arrest of six tribals for screening her filmLal Salam

BHUBANSWAR: Acclaimed actress Nandita Das starrer Lal Salam might not have been a box office hit. But, six years after its release, it is certainly gaining mass appeal among tribals in naxal-affected regions of her home State - Orissa, and causing headache to law enforcers.

Currently shooting for a film in the Thar Desert in Pakistan, Ms. Nandita has expressed concern over the arrest of six Kui tribals of Adya under Gajapati district on September 22 last for exhibiting the film as part of a cultural show. In a mail to The Hindu , she said: "This kind of cultural policing and attack on democracy is quite scary." City-based advocate and democratic rights activist Biswa Priya Kanungo, who along with Ms. Nandita appealed to human rights activists to take note of the issue, said that Lal Salam was not being allowed for screening in Orissa as the story was inspired by Maoists' activities.

When contacted, Gajapati Superintendent of Police A.N. Sinha said that the arrest was not made in connection with screening or possession of the film. Somebody is trying to get mileage by spreading such a rumour, he said.

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