A Bangladeshi film director has been arrested and charged after a scene depicting police harshly interrogating a rape victim and highlighting attitudes towards violence against women sparked the ire of the force.
The first half of Nabab LLB, a fictional courtroom drama about rape and the treatment of victims starring megastar Shakib Khan, was released on a local streaming service in mid-December.
The scene from the movie directed by Anonno Mamun went viral on social media last week, with criticism directed at police over their handling of the case.
It angered the force, with Mamun, 34, and the actor who played the policeman, 46-year-old Shaheen Mridha, arrested on Friday.
“The officer was interrogating her using very offensive gestures and obscene language which is the opposite of healthy entertainment and will create negative perceptions about policing among the public,” Dhaka Metropolitan Police said on their news portal.
The statement added that the pair were arrested “for making and acting in a film containing such offensive and obscene dialogue”.
They faced court on Friday and were charged with “making a film with pornographic content” over a different scene depicting the sexual assault, police added.
Officers said they were also seeking to arrest Orchita Sporshia, the 27-year-old actress who played the rape victim.