'Brick Lane' film riddled with protests

A view of Brick Lane (top), Monica Ali

The book is about a Bangladeshi woman living in a predominantly Bangladeshi immigrant neighborhood in east London.

Last week, many residents opposed the on-location shooting of the movie. The studio making the movie then scrapped those plans because of what it described as security concerns.

Film Four, which is co-financing the movie, has said shooting was almost complete and that exterior shots would be filmed elsewhere. The movie stars Bollywood actor-director Satish Kaushik.

But now protesters say they want the film canceled altogether. A group of Bengali traders leading the protests say they are unhappy over how the book portrays people in the neighborhood.

Community leaders had attacked the book when it was published in 2003, describing its portrayal of Bangladeshis as insulting.

Book critics had hailed Brick Lane as opening a window into the Bangladeshi immigrant experience but it raised hackles in a tightly knit community sensitive to allegations of religious extremism.