MUMBAI: On 7 May one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year - Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ will be released in cinemas across India. God TV is the official broadcast partner of the movie.

The channel will have special promotions and features like a making of the featurette as well as trailers. God TV was launched a couple of years back in India and Asia. The free-to-air channel claims availability in 15 million homes in India with a potential viewership of 75 million.

As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com , Los Angeles based Kintop Pictures is distributing the film. Addressing a media briefing this afternoon, Deepak Nayar who heads the company said that the censor board okeyed the movie sans cuts. "On the marketing front we will be using buses and outdoor hoardings. We are also conducting screenings for members of the clergy in different states. The feedback has been extremely positive and it was on account of the realism that the censor board gave the film a clean chit. There are other countries like the Middle east where quite a few scenes have been cut."

The company will release 50-60 prints in Mumbai and in the South. Based on the response, it will decide whether or not to progress North. At a later stage the company could look at dubbing the film in Hindi and Tamil depending on the demand.

Nayar added that though the whole film is in Aramic and Latin, the director and producer Mel Gibson did not want the film to be subtitled at all. "He felt that the powerful images were sufficient to tell the story," said Nayar. One of the interesting things about the film is that Satan is depicted as a woman.