Government officials and Catholic leaders will view the film after broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi received over 200 complaints.

He said the screening may delay the Indian release of the film, criticised as blasphemous, by "a day or two".

The film receives its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

India's Central Board of Film Certification said on Tuesday it would give the movie an adult rating if the film-makers agreed to a disclaimer at the start of the movie saying it was a work of fiction.

Hunger strike threat

The Da Vinci Code will be released across the world on Friday.

The film, which stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and is directed by Ron Howard, is based on the novel by Dan Brown. It revolves around a theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and their descendants survive today.

The Indian protests follow other demonstrations in several Asian countries.

Islamic clerics in Mumbai (Bombay) backed a call by Catholics for a boycott of the film on Tuesday.

The blockbuster has caused outrage among many Christian organisations, including senior officials at the Vatican.

In India, which is home to 18 million Catholics, the head of the Catholic Secular Forum has begun a "hunger strike until death".

Joseph Dias said he wanted others to join him and pledged to continue until the film was banned.

His organisation has described The Da Vinci Code as "offensive" because it breaches "certain basic foundations of the religion".

Mr Dasmunsi said the film would not be released until he had watched it.

"We are a secular country. On any sensitive issue, we should take action after we examine every aspect. We have to be careful."

The cast of the film travelled on a specially-painted Eurostar train from London to Cannes on Tuesday in preparation for the film's premiere.