A day before the release of his controversial movie God, Sex and Truth with American porn star Mia Malkova, Hyderabad police booked filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma for obscenity on a complaint by a social activist.

A case under section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was booked against him for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

On the complaint by activist Devi and others, Central Crime Station (CCS) registered a case. A police officer said the complainant cited some photographs allegedly posted by Varma on social media. One of these photographs is obscene.

The filmmaker was also booked under sections 506 and 509 of Indian Penal Code for allegedly making personal comments against her and others opposing the movie. He has been charged with insulting the modesty of woman.

Police said they would take legal opinion and conduct investigations before taking further action in the case.

Meanwhile, women’s groups staged protest in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, demanding ban on the release of the movie on web and his immediate arrest.

The activists of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), AP Mahila Samakhya and other groups raised slogans against Varma.

They alleged that Varma is releasing the movie on web to avoid the certification by authorities. They said the filmmaker is portraying woman as a sex object and promoting pornography.

Varma has been facing strong reactions from women’s groups since he released the trailer of the movie and made certain comments.

“I truly believe that there’s no location on earth which is more beautiful and more monumental than a woman’s body,” Varma had tweeted alongside a snapshot from “God, Sex and Truth”, focussing on Malkova’s bare abdomen.

The filmmaker says the video is about a “revolutionary sexual philosophy” as professed by Malkova and encapsulated by him.

In another related development, writer P. Jaya Kumar on Thursday moved Hyderabad City Civil Court against Varma for allegedly violating copyright. The petitioner claimed that the filmmaker made God, Sex and Truth using his story. The court issued notice to the filmmaker.