Kathmandu, Nov. 5 -- 'Panch Pandav', a Nepali film directed by Basanta Niraula, will be released on its scheduled date on Friday despite growing controversy and calls for a boycott over alleged religious insults.

A meeting held at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on Thursday morning, attended by the film's production team and representatives of relevant government agencies, concluded that the film should not be stopped from screening, said Manoj Pandit, an expert member of Nepal's Central Board of Film Censor.

"Officials of the film censor board, concerned filmmakers, and representatives from the Home Ministry and Communications Ministry were present at the meeting," Pandit told Kantipur. "The film censor board ...