Brick Lane Filmmakers Cancel Filming

Producers of the film Brick Lane have cancelled filming in the London area where it is set owing to opposition from the Bangladeshi community there. The film was due to start shooting in the area this weekend. Ruby Films said it had been advised by police and Tower Hamlets council not to film in Brick Lane area, in London's Shoreditch.

Brick Lane Business Association chairman Mahmoud Roug has said the decision was a "victory for the community". Some members of the Bangladeshi community claim that the original novel, by Monica Ali, is "insulting".

The book is about a Bangladeshi woman sent to London for an arranged marriage.

Ruby Films is now seeking alternative locations for exterior scenes it had been due to film in the Brick Lane area this weekend. A spokeswoman said: "We have been advised by the police and Tower Hamlets council that it is probably best not to film there. "We wouldn't want to go anywhere where we are not wanted, or put anyone at risk."

Author Monica Ali gained widespread acclaim for her debut novel Brick Lane, which was shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize.