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The screening of a Telugu movie, Sampangi, has been suspended in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh following protests from Muslim organisations that it hurt the sentiments of their community and belittled the holy Quran.
Sampangi is inspired by Hindi movies Bombay and Gadar, and revolves around a love affair between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl.
Directed by Sana Yadi Reddy, who has earlier directed and produced several hit movies, Sampangi (named after a flower) features two newcomers: hero Deepak and heroine Kanchi Kaul.
The hero Abhishek falls in love with the heroine Rizwana, who is the daughter of his father's friend Osman.
When Abhishek's father Sankarnarayana has a kidney failure, Osman donates a kidney and saves his life. In the end, the mothers of the boy and girl make their families agree to the alliance.
Muslim elders from the Nalgonda town approached the superintendent of police seeking a ban on the screening of the film. They contended that the film had offending scenes, which hurt the sentiments of their community and belittled the Quran.
The Superintendent of Police, B Shivadhar Reddy, arranged a special show of the film for the Muslim elders on Saturday night. However, that didn't placate the elders and they stuck to their demand. The SP had to issue orders suspending the screening of Sampangi from Sunday.
However, the same movie is being screened to full houses in eight theatres in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad since its release on July 13. The film is also running without any hindrance in other towns and cities in the state.
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