HUNDREDS of protesters outraged at the use of the word dog in the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' have ransacked a cinema claiming it is a violation of human rights.
Armed police were forced to guard cinemas in eastern India today after slum dwellers ransacked a picture house showing Slumdog Millionaire because they didn't like the use of the word "dog" in the title.
Several hundred people rampaged through the cinema in Patna, capital of the eastern state of Bihar, on Monday and tore down posters advertising the film.
The protest was organised by Tateshwar Vishwakarma, a social activist who filed a lawsuit over the title last week against four Indians involved in its production - a lead actor, the music director and two others.
"Referring to people living in slums as dogs is a violation of human rights," said Mr Vishwakarma, who works for a group promoting the rights of slum dwellers. We will burn Danny Boyle (the film's British director) effigies in 56 slums here."
Actors Dev Patel and Freida Pinto react after winning the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for "Slumdog Millionaire" at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles January 25, 2009.
