Police in Thailand have arrested two men suspected of selling pirate copies of Anna and the King as part of a national crackdown to prevent the banned film from being seen.

The movie, starring Jodie Foster, is a remake of the 1946 feature starring Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne which tells the story of an English governess in the 19th century court of King Rama IV.

It was outlawed by the Thai censorship committee last month on the grounds that it was an insult to the monarchy and a distortion of Thai history.

Serious crime

If convicted, the two men arrested could face two years in jail under intellectual property laws - or up to 15 years if charged with lese-majeste, an offence against the sovereign power in a state.

Four hundred video compact disc copies of the film, and equipment used to make them, were also seized.

Anna and the King is the fictionalised account of the adventures of an Englishwoman, Anna Leonowens, who was hired as a nanny by the Thai King Rama IV.

Thai censors called it historically inaccurate and listed more than 30 points deemed insulting to the Thai monarchy - a serious crime given that the Thai royal family is a revered institution.

Even so, many of the country's 61 million inhabitants seem to be eager to see the film.

Illicit copies have been on open sale in Bangok, where counterfeiting is widespread, for as little as 60 baht (90p) since it was released abroad last month.

Longstanding controversy

The original 1946 film was adapted from the stage play of Margaret Landon's 1944 book Anna and the King of Siam. The book claims to recount the experiences of Anna Leonowens.

The book was also adapted into a stage musical called The King and I, which was then made into the 1956 movie starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. This was also banned in Thailand for the same reason.

The new film's Hollywood studio - 20th Century Fox - had to film in neighbouring Malaysia due to the longstanding acrimony felt over the story in Thailand.

Fox has argued that its version is more sympathetic than previous versions - in particular it claimed its characterisation of the king was a great improvement on the one played by Yul Brynner in The King and I.

Nonetheless, Thai censors and historians have refused to back down. They are adamant that the script is inaccurate and gives Leonowens a prominence in court life and a hinted romantic involvement with the king that simply did not exist.

Thailand's current ruler King Bhumibol Adulyadej has reportedly seen, and enjoyed, both Anna and the King and the King and I. He is also said to have made it known that he does not want anyone prosecuted under the lese-majeste laws this year.