The original 1956 film was banned in Thailand for showing disrespect to the country's royal family.

Simon Ingram: Film makers in trouble over movie remake

Forty years on, there is concern that the authorities' protective attitude means the remake will have to be filmed elsewhere.

Twentieth Century Fox is trying to persuade the authorities to allow them to film a remake of the musical in Thailand.

The original film starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, as well as the play on which it was based, were banned in Thailand for showing disrespect towards the Thai monarchy.

The present ruler, King Bhumipol Adulyadej, is the world's longest-serving monarch and he and his family enjoy the sort of outward respect European royals left behind centuries ago.

King Bhumipol: Commands respect and affection

The King and I was one of Hollywood's biggest hit musicals of the 1950s.

The romantic tale of a Welsh schoolteacher who fell in love with the 19th Century king of Siam won Yul Brynner an Oscar but in modern day Thailand people never had the chance to see the movie - authorities banned it on the grounds of cultural and historical distortion.

In a country where at 6 o'clock people stop in their tracks for the playing of the national anthem, the current monarch, King Bhumipol, commands unstinting admiration.

The man whose translated name means "strength of the land incomparable power" has occupied the throne more than half a century - longer than any other living monarch - but through his keen attention to public welfare King Bhumipol has won the genuine affection of his 60 million subjects.

People come to a standstill every morning

In times of political crisis he has restored calm by giving rival politicians a public dressing down.

In a country where being rude about the king carries a stiff jail sentence, Hollywood has already ruffled feathers. The makers of the action feature Mortal Kombat enraged Thai officials by staging some of its more violent scenes in a Buddhist temple.

Officials from Twentieth Century Fox are due to arrive in Thailand over the coming week to discuss the proposals and try to convince the country's film board that a revised script has overcome their initial objections.