Indian cinegoers might be thrilled to see their hero grappling with a leopard or tiger.But did you know that the animal's mouth was stitched before the shooting ? Beauty Without Cruelty,an International Animal Rights Organisation,once appealed to the Board of Film Certification to censor a particular scene in a Hindi movie where heroine Mamta Kulkarni features with a leopard.This leopard was subjected to cruel treatment before screening the shot.

The Board was however reluctant to do anything about this.Apparently,it will censor only that part of the film which actually shows cruelty to animals on the screen.That the leopard had suffered severe pain when its mouth was stitched to make it safe for its human co-star was of little consequence to the Board.

Perhaps the animal that suffered most for the silver screen was the tigress,Umadevi.She dominated the animal starrers featuringin over 600 films.For a fight sequence with film star Dharmendra in "Insaaf Kaun Karega",Umadevi was starved for three days and her mouth regularly stitched for six days(sometimes twice a day for retakes).After the fight,people rushed to congratulate the actor for fighting with a tigress.

According to an eyewitness,"Umadevi's claws were cut to the very roots.Any new nail growth was cut away mercilessly just before a shooting,just in case she took a swipe at an actor,director or cameraman."

He described the stitching operation thus:"While in this small cage,stout nylon ropes were passed around Uma's head and neck and pulled on by four or five mentill the beast's mouth is pressed up against the bar in a tight grip.No tranquilisers or sedations,for she had to remain lively for shooting.Quite literally,they used a shoemaker's needle and the animal's lips are sewn together,top lip to bottom lip."