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 Other members of the panel were expected to quit on Friday, in
support of Leela Samson's resignation after an appeals tribunal
reversed censors' decision to keep the film, "MSG: The Messenger of
God", out of theaters as being too promotional.
"There is interference, there is coercion," Samson told television
broadcaster CNN-IBN, adding that the appeals tribunal, whose
decisions usually take a month, had cleared "MSG" within 24 hours.
However, the government, which runs the censorship and appeals
process, did not interfere, said Rajyavardhan Rathore, India's
junior minister for information and broadcasting.
"If they had to give it a certificate and overrule us, why have a
board in place?" Samson told Reuters.
Another panel member, Ira Bhaskar, said she would resign later on
Friday in support of Samson, with others to follow.
"This is not an environment in which we can function as a board,"
she told CNN-IBN.
 The imbroglio has delayed the release of "MSG", which stars Gurmeet
Ram Rahim Singh, the 47-year-old leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda
sect, beyond its originally set date of Friday.
But far from being unsuitable, say the film-makers, "MSG" fights
alcoholism and drug addiction, and extols the virtues of celibacy
and a vegetarian diet.
"My film does not talk about religion nor mention any religion," Ram
Rahim Singh told a news conference on the outskirts of the capital,
New Delhi.
Singh said he was bemused by the fuss over "MSG", but did not give
any reason for calling off a hastily arranged premiere. It was
unclear when the film would open in cinemas.
The debate over the film went viral on social media, with hashtags
#MSGinCinemas and #WeLoveMSG trending on Twitter.
"All hail freedom of expression. MSG ... is India's Charlie Hebdo,"
said Twitter user "Finger of India", referring to the French
satirical newspaper attacked by Islamist gunmen this month.
ROCKSTAR GODMAN
The movie's trailer, which has racked up more than 2 million views
on YouTube, shows Ram Rahim Singh, complete with flowing beard and
hairy outstretched arms, glaring at evildoers before scattering them
with his fists.
Mobbed by thousands of doting disciples, he struts and sings like a
Bollywood hero.
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Singh wrote and co-directed the film, besides singing and composing
its music.
A sequel is in the works with profits earmarked to fund a hospital
and HIV research center, said Aditya Insaan, a spokesman for the
film's distributor, Hakikat Entertainment.
Even apart from the celluloid derring-do, Singh is a controversial
figure.
In December, a court asked federal police to investigate claims that
Singh forced 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram in
northern India, in order to experience God.
Singh has denied the allegations, but India's Central Bureau of
Investigation has filed a case.
Several groups representing the Sikh minority that makes up 2
percent of India's population of 1.2 billion have demanded a ban on
the film, in which they say Singh distorted their scriptures and
dressed up as a 17th-century Sikh guru.
"We are not against freedom of expression, but the organization
against Sikhism," said S. Simranjit Singh Mann, the chief of one
such group.
In New Delhi, about a hundred Sikhs held a protest march near
Parliament. They carried placards and shouted slogans against Ram
Rahim Singh. In the town of Hisar, about 150 kilometers (93 miles)
west of the capital, protesters burnt an effigy of the leader.
(Additional reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Writing by Tony
Tharakan; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Clarence Fernandez)
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