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EUROPE August 30, 1999 VNN4617 Comment on this story Eyes Wide Shut Orgy Scene Is Cut For Hindus FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (LONDON) ENGLAND, Aug 30 (VNN) — Copyright 1999 Telegraph Group Limited THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (LONDON) August 28, 1999, Saturday SECTION: Pg. 03 LENGTH: 287 words HEADLINE: Eyes Wide Shut orgy scene is cut for Hindus BYLINE: By AMIT ROY WARNER Brothers has agreed to edit an orgy scene in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut before the film's British premiere after Hindu groups protested that they found it offensive, writes Amit Roy. The protest began in America, where Hindu organisations objected to the recitation of a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, their holiest book, to spice up the sexually explicit scene. Although the protest gathered momentum, with Hindu groups in Britain joining in, Warner Brothers said it felt unable to edit the completed film. In an about-turn, the firm has decided it will, at vast cost, edit the scene before the London premiere on Sept 3, to be attended by the stars, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. Its general release in Britain is on Sept 10. In the film, the character played by Cruise wanders across the screen as an orgy takes place. The Bhagavad Gita is chanted in the background. The master tape is being edited in studios in London before the change is transferred to 400 prints for distributed in Britain. "This will cost Warners an arm and a leg, " commented a film industry source. Hashmukh Shah, a Bradford-based spokesman for the World Hindu Council, said: "Hindus have for long been tolerant, but we are no longer willing to go about with our eyes shut wide. We are delighted that the offending scene is being dropped." According to Mr Shah, what Hindus found especially objectionable was Kubrick's choice of a shloka (mantra) close to the heart of devout Hindus: "When evil descends on earth, the Lord Krishna will manifest himself in human form to destroy that evil." Last night, Julian Senior, Warner's senior president in Europe, admitted that the company had erred. "We are editing the tape." Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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