Police crack down on porn pushers

Police have launched a nationwide crackdown on pornographic films after receiving protests from women's groups and social workers.

The groups claimed Indian porn was flooding underground markets in the country and was also being sold in other parts of Asia.

The films come mainly from the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka.

'You can't really call them blue movies,' Ajay Sharma, a Dubai resident, said. 'The colour is soft blue.' He said Indian soft-porn video cassettes were easily available in the specialist markets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

'The movies are especially popular with Indian expatriates in the Gulf,' Mr Sharma said.

'It gives them a taste, however twisted, of home.' With deft editing well-known Indian movie stars can be made to appear as if they are participating in a cheap soft-porn venture.

Scenes from mainstream Hindi films, say of a couple embracing on a moonlit beach, are juxtaposed with steamy shots of two nude bodies writhing on a bed.