Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's Bare-Bottom Blocked in India

The Hollywood remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will not be screened in India after it was blocked by censors.

The film, a remake of the Swedish hit adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel, contains explicit scenes of sexual violence.

Censors in India wanted key sections, including a sex scene between stars Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig and a rape scene, to be blurred or removed but director David Fincher refused.

"Bare-bottom and bare-breast scenes are not allowed in India," censor official JP Singh told AFP. "We objected to several scenes in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and wanted them to be blurred."

Sony Pictures backed Fincher and said the film had to be taken in its "unaltered form".

"Sony Pictures will not be releasing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in India," the studio said. "The Censor Board has judged the film unsuitable for public viewing in its unaltered form and while we are committed to maintaining and protecting the vision of the director, we will, as always, respect the guidelines set by the board."

This is not the first time proposed changes to a Fincher film have led to tensions. During the making of Seven in 1995, he was under pressure from the studio to change the film's downbeat ending. Eventually the original plot was maintained after stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt refused to film an alternative ending and threatened to walk out on the production.