Sparking a fresh controversy in West Bengal, state-run Star Theatre in north Kolkata stopped the screening of Agnideb Chattopadhyay's Bengali film 'Teen Kanya' on Saturday on the grounds that it referred to the Park Street rape incident and also sent out an anti-state message.

The film that features State Education Minister Bratya Basu released on Friday.

Reacting to the government's move, Agnideb Chattopadhyay told a television channel: "I was shocked after I came to know that the theatre has taken the decision to stop screening the film. It is a thriller. I absolutely did not try to send out any political message through the movie."

"Infact, the censors also cleared the film and even appreciated the message that I tried to send out, " Chattopadhyay said.

"Some are claiming that the film has portrayed the Park Street rape case with an anti-establishment message. I want to say that this is incorrect, " Chattopadhyay said.

Popular Tollywood (Bengali film industry) actress Rituparna Sengupta, who has acted in the film, told a news channel: "It is a strange thing. I do not think it has a political message. The film was extremely well received by the audience and the shows on Saturday had been booked in advance. This is a social film. It is a suspense thriller. I really don't know the reason behind stopping it."

The film revolved around the lives of three women.

The characters are played by Rituparna Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee and Unnati Davara.

Pertinently, the West Bengal government and the police are under pressure with a number of rape cases being reported from across the state, the most infamous of them being the Park Street rape case.

The 37-year-old mother of two, belonging to the Anglo-Indian community, had said that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint inside a moving car after she was given a lift in the vehicle from Park Street on the Feb 5-6 night.

However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that a billowing controversy over the rape and alleged police insensitivity to the incident was a conspiracy fabricated to malign her government.