A facsimile sent to the film's overseas distributor, C A Corporation on Saturday, stated: ``This is to certify that in accordance with Regulation 7 of the Cinematograph Regulations, 1941, the cinematograph film has been found to be unsuitable for public exhibition as follows: R.'' R implies rejected.

The facsimile gives no reason for the ban.

Mahesh Bhatt, who is in the United States, could not be contacted. His daughter and lead actress in the film, Pooja Bhatt, is disappointed by the Mauritian Government's action, but is far from surprised. ``It makes me very sad, but I'm not surprised. When I was there last year, it struck me as being quite a fundamentalist country.''

The film'sco-producer Mukesh Bhatt told The Indian Express: ``It's tragic that just because Zakhm has run into censor problems in India, people outside the country are also looking at the film with the same distorted view. What they are not seeing is the losses the producers have to suffer.''

Pooja Bhatt agrees with the commercial point of view when she says: ``It is a small market for us, but nevertheless it is a market.'' But there are no plans to fight the ban. ``What can we do,'' says Bhatt, adding, ``After all, it is their own insecurity that has led them to do this. And the easiest option for the frightened was to say `ban it' and those who did not agree with them chose not question it.''

Tanuja Chandra, who has written Zakhm's screenplay, says the film condemns this very kind of intolerance. ``The film speaks against the kind of fundamentalism the Mauritian Government is practising by banning the film.'' She adds: ``The Government's move has surprised us because just some months ago,Pooja Bhatt was invited there as a state guest. The film industry also shoots a great deal there.''

But Bhatt recalls her trip to Mauritius earlier as the chief guest for the International Woman's Year when she was greeted in the country with her front page Internet nude photographs in a newspaper. ``Everyone knew that photo was not mine and yet they did it. It showed me how vicious that sleepy, beautiful place could get,'' she says.

Mukesh Bhatt claimed that the film had received a good initial response, Ramzan notwithstanding. ``As a producer, I want to make good quality films. But what is the kind of back-up I'm getting?'' he asked, referring to the censor problems the film ran into.