NEW DELHI Rightwing Hindu women attacked cinemas in Bombay on Wednesday (Dec. 2) to protest at the screening of a film based on the life of a Lesbian, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said. Scores of protesters belonging to the women's chapter of the rightwing Hindu Shiv Sena Party smashed glass panes, tore posters and staged noisy rallies at cinemas against the highly-successful film, fire.

The Shiv Sena and its Hindu nationalist ally the BJP rule the western state of Maharashtra of which Bombay is the capital. PTI said two cinemas suspended the screening of fire after the attacks in Bombay, the Hub of India's flourishing film industry. The women said they were shocked and confused by the film, which revolves around the life of a Lesbian. PTI said Maharashtara Chief Minister Manohar Joshi congratulated the women attackers and added: The (Lesbian) theme of the film appears to be alien to our culture and a highly exaggerated one.

The Shiv Sena, which has locked horns with BJP Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee over next year's tour by Pakistan's cricket team, is widely accused of running a cultural policing system in Bombay. The radical party, which has its headquarters in Bombay, has also warned that it will exclude Islamic influence from mainly Hindu India. (AFP)