MUMBAI: Controversy-ridden Satyajit Ray‘s rare documentary Sikkim has been released on home video.

The 52-minute documentary, commissioned in 1971 by the last Chogyal (king) of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal, was banned after the rulers disapproved a few scenes of the film. Later, when the Himalayan kingdom merged with India in 1975, the Indian government banned it too.

Two years ago, the ministry of external affairs lifted the ban on the film and since then, the Satyajit Ray film has been shown only to restricted audiences at film festivals including the 2010 Kolkata Film Festival.

"We do not know why the film was banned for so long, but all I can say is that it is not a political film and has no propaganda. It is about the flora, fauna, the natural beauty and diversity of the Himalayan kingdom," bared Ray’s son and filmmaker Sandip Ray.

Though the original negative of the film is lost, a damaged print of the film was restored by the Gangtok-based Art and Culture Trust (ACT) of Sikkim in 2002 with support of The Academy of Motion Pictures, Art and Science in California.