The release of Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files has been put on hold in New Zealand. The country's censor board, which had earlier cleared the movie, decided to reconsider its judgment after it was touched on by some community groups. New Zealand’s censor board only allows those above 16 to which the film The Kashmir Files. But the board decided to review its decision and put on hold the screening of the film.

The film, which concentrates on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s, has been bogged down in controversy since its release on March 11. Former New Zealand deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has hit out at the movie board and said that censoring the film would be an onslaught on the freedom of New Zealanders. "To censor this film is tantamount to censoring information or images from the March 15th atrocities in New Zealand, or for that matter removing from public knowledge all images of the attack on 9/11," Peters said in a Facebook post.

"Terrorism in all its forms, no matter what its source, should be exposed and opposed.  This attempt at selective censorship would amount to one further attack on the freedom of New Zealanders and people worldwide," he added.

The Kashmir Files, which is directed by Vivek Agnihotri, features Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty, and Pallavi Joshi among others.

Also Read: Aamir Khan says he will watch The Kashmir Files – “Whatever happened with the Kashmiri Pandits was really sad”