The director of a film banned by the Sri Lankan Government has rejected the claims it is seeking to insult the armed forces.
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara said the film, Flying Fish, depicted reality and was based on his own experiences growing up in Sri Lanka's war zone.
According to the BBC, the film was banned after being shown at a festival promoted by the French embassy in Colombo.
A government spokesman said the film was illegal and used images of the army uniform without permission.
Pushpakumara, in a statement issued from South Korea, where he is based, denied discrediting the military and said he wanted to show reality in a humane and artistic way.
Police are now holding a fact-finding investigation into the film, and some of its production staff has been questioned.
The Sinhala-language film was made in 2011 and is set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war, the report added.