|TOP|A fourth state in India has come out to ban the release of the Hollywood blockbuster The Da Vinci Code just weeks after the release of the film.

The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu made the announcement in an official statement following appeals from local Christian leaders who feared that the film, based on Dan Brown’s book, might hurt the community’s religious sentiments, reports BBC.

The Tamil Nadu government released a statement in which it said the release of the film might “lead to demonstrations and disrupt peace and tranquillity” in the state due to the controversial content of the film, which portrays Jesus as married to Mary Magdalene.

The decision of Tamil Nadu state, where 6.1 per cent of the 63 million inhabitants are Christian, follows the bans already implemented in the states of Punjab, Goa and the predominantly Christian Nagaland.

|AD|Bishop Symphorian Keeprath from the diocese of Jalandhar in central Punjab was one of a number of Catholic priests in the state who took a stand against the film.

He said the contents of the film were “shameful and liable to hurt the religious sentiments of the Christians of Punjab if its screening was permitted”.

Sony Pictures was forced to delay the release of the film after the Censor Board of India insisted on the insertion of a “legal card which clearly indicates the ‘fictitious’ nature of the film at the beginning for 15 seconds”.

In the opening week the film grossed a massive US$231.8 million, despite poor reviews, making it the second most successful film opening in history after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which took in US$253 in its first weekend after release.