Singapore - A comedy that triggered protests among Hindu groups in India and the United States has been approved for screening in Singapore, news reports said Wednesday. The Board of Film Censors said that The Love Guru does not denigrate any religion but limited viewers to those 16 and over because of its raunchy humour.
Protestors elsewhere said that the film appeared to be lampooning Hinduism and used Hindu terms frivolously.
"We thought it was much ado about nothing," The Straits Times quoted Vijay Chandran, chairman of the Films Consultative Panel, as saying.
The panel advises censors in the city-state.
The 81-minute movie stars comedian Mike Myers, who co-wrote the script. He plays Guru Pitka, an American who grew up in India and became a Hindu wise man.
The panel is made up of 60 members drawn from diverse professions, faiths and age groups.
The film "does not denigrate any religion," was the group's unanimous conclusion.
Singapore's predominantly Chinese population includes 6 per cent who are Indian Hindus.
The movie opens in Singapore on September 4. The 62-million-US- dollar comedy received a drubbing by US critics when it premiered last month.
