Apparently irked over the censor board deleting a jallikattu (bullfight) scene from the Tamil film Mirugam (Animal), the movie crew went on a fast here on Tuesday, opposing what they called “ban on depicting Jallikattu in Tamil cinema.”

The Censor Board had deleted the scene, following an objection by the Animal Welfare Board of India due to alleged cruelty to animals in the sport, film sources said.

Producer Karthik Jai, Director Samy and hero Adhi, among others, sat on protest. “Jallikattu is a local sport of bravery and there should be no ban on showing it in cinema in the future,” he said.

The team had been furious over the Board’s action and had earlier announced that the hero and producer would take out a protest march on Tuesday, but it was later dropped with the crew opting to fast.

The film had its first brush with controversy when heroine Padmapriya walked out of the sets after being reportedly slapped by Samy, “for coming late daily” for shooting. A complaint lodged by the actress, the Producers’ Council banned Samy from directing movies for a year.