It has been announced that Indian audiences will not be getting to see Woody Allen's acclaimed Blue Jasmine in cinemas. The reason? Because the director objected to the Indian Government mandated anti-tobacco ads that are required to be inserted over any scene featuring a character smoking. Allen is in the privileged position of having the final say over distribution, and refused to show the film with the alterations.

It's not a banning as such, but it is the latest in a fascinating line of films denied a release in a country for the most peculiar reasons...

1. Back to the Future has been banned in China due to the Government's strict restrictions on films featuring time travel and changing of historical events.

2. On release, classic romance Brief Encounter was banned in Ireland for featuring themes of adultery. It is thankfully now readily available.

3. Zoolander's release was denied in Malaysia. The comedy features a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia to keep clothing sweatshops in the country open. Authorities were not amused.

4. Silly disaster movie 2012 was banned in North Korea because of Kim Jong-il's claim that 2012 was the year the country would become a significant international power. Any fiction betraying that belief was severely restricted, especially 2012 with its endless onslaught of disasters. Any citizens unlucky enough to be caught with a copy were arrested.

5. During the 20th century, hugely influential silent film Battleship Potemkin was banned in France due to concerns it could inspire a revolution. In Nazi Germany, it was banned for promoting communism.

6. Religious authorities in Samoa and the Solomon Islands helped ensure The Da Vinci Code didn't reach their shores, due to the film's 'unique' reinterpretation of Christian history.

7. District 9 was banned in Nigeria, the Information Minister accusing it of portraying Nigerians as "cannibals, criminals and prostitutes".

8. 1987's Cry Freedom was initially cleared for release in South Africa, but that was overruled by the country's Justice Minister as it focused on two writers - Steve Biko and Donald Woods - whose work was banned in the country. It was released years later when Nelson Mandela was elected President.

9. This is the strangest one: it has been reported that The Simpsons Movie was banned in Burma because censors objected to the use of yellow and red in the film. It's unclear exactly why that was the case.

10. Kazakhstan viewers have never been able to enjoy the portrayal of their country in Borat. Anyone who has seen the film can probably identify a few reasons why.

(Main image: Back to the Future / Universal)