Raunchy Bruno film banned in Malaysia

Sep 29, 2009, 7:52 GMT

   Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's film censorship board has banned Bruno, the comedy movie about a gay fashion reporter played by Sacha Baron Cohen, from being distributed or shown locally, a news report said Tuesday.

   Distributors for the movie, which opened globally in July, said the board did not specify any reason for the ban, but it came as no surprise.

   The predominantly Muslim country's film censorship board has been criticised as being excessive in throwing out or cutting scenes from movies deemed to be offensive to local audiences.

   However, fans of actor Cohen will still likely be able to watch the movie on widely available pirated DVDs.

   In response to the ban, Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Rais Yatim said the censorship board should give distributors a chance to appeal against the ruling.

   'The board should not also throw the movie out without giving the submitting party a chance to explain themselves for scenes which may be deemed objectionable,' Rais was quoted as saying by the Star daily.

   Malaysia's censorship board has in the past banned such diverse movies such as Babe: Pig in the City, Saving Private Ryan and comedies such as Zoolander and Austin Powers.