Hindu scholars have joined Catholics around the world by condemning the filmmakers of The Da Vinci Code prequel Angels and Demons for "playing with the sentiments of the faithful for mercantile greed."

Universal Society of Hinduism officials in America have voted to censure the film, starring Tom Hanks, because they claim director Ron Howard and his producers have failed to acknowledge how their film could damage Catholic faith. The film explores the concept that a secret brotherhood slays and murders those who get too close to revealing the truth behind the myth that Jesus Christ fathered a child and his lineage lives on.

USH spokesman and Hindu statesman Rajan Zed says, "Faith is something sacred and attempts at belittling it hurts the devotees. Filmmakers should be more sensitive and careful while handling faith-related subjects because cinema is a very powerful medium. The U.S. Confederation of Catholic Bishops supported us when we attempted to boycott Mike Myers' The Love Guru last year - when that film trivialized Hinduism - and we support them now."

"Despite our seriously different traditions, we are all fellow seekers of the ultimate reality, and we were all headed in the same direction. So, we should help each other on our journey towards truth and have some sort of trust and mutual loyalty. We believe films should entertain and make everybody smile; they should not come at the expense of ridiculing others' faith and spreading disinformation. Movies like this bring more confusion and create stereotypes in the minds of some audiences."

Zed's comments come just days after Hanks defended the film against Catholic attacks, insisting there is "nothing sacrilegious" about the murder mystery.

He told the New York Daily News, "People will see there's nothing sacrilegious about it at all. Yes, we had a few things go on that are completely fictionalized; but there's no reason to have a big hurly-burly over what is essentially a whodunit (murder mystery)."







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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)