 Rebels say Bollywood films are destroying local culture |
Distributors and cinema owners in north-east India say they will go ahead with plans to defy a rebel ban on Bollywood films in the region. Two powerful separatist groups object to the screening of Hindi films in the seven north-eastern states, because they say they undermine local culture.
The Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) said the ban would damage the local film industry.
Many cinema owners say they face ruin if they cannot not show Hindi films.
The United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) say the erotic song and dance sequences in Bollywood films are a bad influence on young people.
Illegal screenings
The EIMPA, which is the largest body of cinema owners and distributors in the area, has appealed to them to reconsider their decision in a region where unemployment is high.
A spokesman for the association said a Bollywood ban could also give rise to illegal screenings of films, leading to loss of revenue.
The chief minister of the north-eastern state of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, told the BBC he welcomed the decision to defy the ban.
Mr Gogoi said the rebel move was undemocratic, and he would extend all possible support to cinema owners to help them defy any objections.
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