Helmer Bundela assault questioned
Beating may have been staged to get publicity
Some 25 people purporting to belong to a marginal right-wing Hindu movement attacked Bundela on Sunday, in full view of TV cameras, after the director's new pic was screened in Bhopal.
"There is a strong possibility that the whole incident was stage-managed by Bundela himself since one of the three arrested persons is a close friend of the actor," said Arun Pratap Singh, police Superintendent.
Bundela, who was not seriously injured, said he was "profoundly hurt" by the "fascist protest." He did not file a complaint about his beating and has not been available for comment.
"Pratha" is about a girl who is declared the incarnation of a deity and imprisoned in a temple before she can consummate her love with her new husband.
The movie, which is based on a magazine article, has been blasted by the Hindu right wing. Leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), a fundamentalist movement with ties to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Indian People's Party, have called for the film to be banned.
