Kathmandu, June 21 -- The recent arrest of comedian Pranesh Gautam for posting a movie review of "Bir Bikram 2" on YouTube has been the reason of many discussions and debates. The arrest, acted out on a complaint issued by the movie's director Milan Chamling "Chams" Rai who claimed that the review defamed his movie and the actors in it, received mixed reactions from the public: Some claimed Gautam's review was derogatory and offensive whereas others called the arrest a breach of Gautam's right to free speech.

Achuyut Koirala, former vice-president of Film Critics Society of Nepal (FICSON), claims that this is not the first time a movie reviewer has been victimized for publishing honest content. "In the past I have had people from the Nep...