The Censor Board under the Ministry of Information and Communications has asked the producers of the film ‘Ahankar’ to apply for permission to screen the film after deleting some of the scenes, which the Board deemed would evoke ethnic conflicts in the country.

The film revolves round the story of attempted ethnic conflict seen in the recent Terai unrest. It says the ethnic differences have come up due to vested interests of some unscrupulous groups and that state authorities and parties failed to assess correct information on time.

At an interaction organised in the capital on Monday regarding the censorship imposed by the Board, speakers said there was no need to censor any scenes of the film.

According to the director of the film Dinesh Karki, 70 percent of the scenes have to be deleted if the grid given by the Board is accepted.

Speakers like Ashok Sharma, Ramesh Budathoki, Narayan Puri, Nayan Raj Pandey, Laya Sangraula termed the action of the censor board as undemocratic and unscientific. They claimed the board censors Nepali films but allows screening foreign films with similar scenes.

Similarly, the Nepal Film Directors Society and Nepal Film Artists Association, in separate press statements condemned the action of the censor board.