Al-Risalah, the first Hollywood movie on Islam, which has been dubbed in Urdu/Hindustani and released in India, has been taken off theatres in Hyderabad.
Following this the screening of the movie in Kolkata was also stopped. Director, Moustapha Akkad directed the film that has songs composed by AR Rahman.
The song 'Marhaba Mustafa' has already got popular. The movie was originally made in Arabic and English, and has recently been dubbed with lyrics and dialogues translated by Hasan Kamal. Of course, Prophet (SAW) has not been depicted on the screen.
No prize for guessing about the Hyderabad ban though: Majlis had protested the screening. When questioned that when Muslims in many other countries were watching the movie and clergy had okayed it, an AIMIM leader said that "it will still not let the movie run in the City".
The Indian distributors must have suffered loss as the movie is getting banned in one city after the other. However, they hope to earn through VCD that has more songs including Arabic ones and sermons. The reviews suggest that this movie, funded by Muammar Gaddafi, had been praised in Arab world and the West alike.