From News Dispatches

New Delhi - The Indian government has withheld permission to two internationally renowned directors to shoot in India films on the Dalai Lama, the Indian Express has reported.

Permission was refused to Martin Scorsese and Jean Jacques Annaud of France because of fears that it may imperil diplomatic relations with China.

The newspaper said the Prime Minister's office (PMO) had only "shelved" the proposals and not rejected them.

But Scorsese and Annaud have decided to shoot their films, "Kundan" and "Seven Years in Tibet", elsewhere, the Express said.

The scripts encountered no problems at the official level, including at the Ministry of External Affairs where it was cleared by the foreign secretary, the newspaper said.

Foreign producers have to obtain the permission of the Information and Broadcasting ministry to shoot films in India.

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