The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Jodhpur

A lavish film about the love between a Muslim emperor and his Hindu wife, played by Bollywood's most glamorous star Aishwarya Rai, has opened in India to angry protests.

Cinemas in western Rajasthan state have refused to show "Jodhaa Akbar" after threats from the region's Rajput community, which says the historical romance is grossly inaccurate. The film-said to be one of the most expensive Bollywood movies ever made-depicts a romance between the 16th century Mughal ruler Akbar and Rajput princess Jodha Bai.

But Rajputs and many historians say Jodha Bai was in fact Akbar's daughter-in-law.

"We will not allow the film to run unless the director makes a public apology," Lokendra Kalvi, the chief of a Rajput group, told reporters in the state on Friday. Former Miss World Rai portrays Jodha, while Akbar is played by Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan.

"Jodhaa Akbar" is Rai's first film since her high-profile marriage to actor Abhishek Bachchan, the son of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.

India's prolific Bollywood film industry-famed for its sexually suggestive song-and-dance routines-is no stranger to controversy in a country known for its chaste public behaviour.

In December, a film starring superstar Madhuri Dixit was banned in an Indian state after low-caste Hindus said its song lyrics were offensive.